Mikel Arteta expressed his anger after Arsenal were denied a penalty in the 1-1 draw against Atlético Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final. The incident occurred in the 78th minute when referee Danny Makkelie initially pointed to the spot for a foul by David Hancko on Eberechi Eze, but overturned his decision after reviewing multiple replays on the pitchside monitor.
Arteta described himself as “incredibly fuming” over the decision, stating that there was clear contact and that the overturn was unacceptable at this level. “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,” he said.
The match had already seen two penalties awarded: one for Arsenal after Hancko fouled Viktor Gyökeres, converted by Gyökeres, and one for Atlético for a handball by Ben White, converted by Julián Alvarez. Arteta accepted the handball decision but was critical of the overturned 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,” Arteta added. He praised his team’s performance in a hostile atmosphere at the Metropolitano Stadium, saying, “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.”
The second leg is scheduled to take place in north London next Tuesday.
