Declan Rice has spoken out about the controversial penalty decision in the Champions League final, suggesting a similar incident earlier in the season was given as a spot-kick. The Arsenal midfielder believes Noni Madueke should have been awarded a penalty after going down under a challenge from Paris Saint-Germain's Nuno Mendes in extra time.
Rice referenced a penalty Arsenal received against Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16 first leg, where Madueke was fouled by Malik Tillman. "I've not seen it back yet. At first glance on the pitch, I think he's ahead of Nuno Mendes, and if I'm looking back at the one we got against Bayer Leverkusen, it's very, very similar," Rice told TNT Sports after the match.
The England international was initially furious at the decision and was booked for his protests. He added: "I was gutted at the time because I thought the ref would have a look. It was obviously not clear enough to be a pen. I thought it was, and so did our bench and our players."
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was also adamant it should have been a penalty after watching replays. "I watched it back and you can easily see a penalty. Especially when you see the penalties in the competition this season," Arteta told TNT Sports.
Despite the disappointment, Rice insisted the defeat will not define the group. "He's gutted, yeah, he's gutted. We're all gutted, it's a Champions League final, the emotions and the stakes are so high. It's cruel, it's cruel; that's football," he said. "But we keep building... since I came to the club, it was a quarterfinal exit, semi-final, now, a final. So, look, we keep going, we keep staying positive, and that's one thing about this group, this ain't gonna define us."
