Mikel Arteta described himself as “incredibly fuming” after Arsenal were denied a penalty that might have given them a lead to take from the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Atlético Madrid.
With the score at 1-1 in the 78th minute, the Dutch referee Danny Makkelie pointed to the spot after the Atlético defender David Hancko caught Eberechi Eze, who was on as a substitute for Arsenal, with a late tackle.
But to Arteta’s horror, Makkelie changed his mind after seeing what looked to be 12 or 13 replays of the incident on the pitchside monitor. The official appeared to decide that the contact was not strong enough.
Makkelie had already awarded two penalties – one for Arsenal for a Hancko foul on Viktor Gyökeres, which was hotly contested by Atlético. Gyökeres scored. And one for Atlético for a Ben White handball that he knew very little about, the ball blasted at him by Marcos Llorente. Julián Alvarez converted. The match finished 1-1.
“We were disappointed for the Atlético penalty,” Arteta said. “In the Premier League, it’s not a penalty but here I have to accept that with the rules and how consistent they’ve been, I accept that this is a handball.
“What I’m incredibly fuming with is how the hell the penalty on Ebs gets overturned in the manner that it happened when there is no clear and obvious error. This changes the course of the game. And at this level, I’m sorry but this cannot happen.
“A very clear explanation of the decision is what happens for a period of time [when] a referee has to watch it 13 times. What’s more clear than that? It’s impossible and we are all fuming about it. We need to apply the rules … [the way] they applied the rules on Ben White’s penalty.
“When you have fought so hard for nine months to be in this position … I mean, that’s another goal that changed completely the course of the tie. And it cannot happen. We put so much on it. So, so, so much on it. This cannot happen.
“There is clear contact. If you make that decision, you cannot overturn that decision. When you have to look at it 13 times … at this level it’s completely unacceptable.”
Arteta was pleased by how his players coped with a hostile atmosphere at the Metropolitano Stadium. The second leg is in north London next Tuesday. “I’m very proud,” Arteta said. “I’ve seen some of the best teams in the world fall apart here and concede three and four. We didn’t get the result we wanted. But at least it is in our hands, in front of our people.”
