Mikel Arteta called the decision to overturn a penalty awarded to Eberechi Eze “completely unacceptable” after Arsenal were pegged back to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final at Atletico Madrid.
Substitute Eze went to ground in the box under a challenge from David Hancko on 78 minutes. Referee Danny Makkelie initially pointed to the spot for Arsenal, but VAR intervened and advised him to review the pitch-side monitor. After watching multiple replays — reported to be 13 viewings — Makkelie ruled out the penalty and the match finished level ahead of the second leg at the Emirates Stadium.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the game, Arteta was damning of the reversal. “After going back into the dressing room, speaking to the boys and watching the penalty incident, it’s extremely disappointing and annoying because it was against the rules and it changes the course of the tie,” he said. “I’m very, very upset. The whole sequence. There is clear contact. You make the decision, you cannot overturn that decision when you have to look at it 13 times. It’s completely unacceptable at this level. It’s the wrong decision.”
Midfielder Declan Rice echoed his manager’s frustration, saying the incident was “a clear penalty” and suggesting the atmosphere and home fans influenced the referee’s change of mind. “I think the fans provoked the decision and changed the ref’s mind,” Rice said. “UEFA is totally different (to the Premier League). In both boxes, you have to be so careful because they give absolutely everything.”
UEFA issued a brief statement saying: “Atleti player, No 17, did not commit a foul on the opponent.” The governing body declined to expand on the decision-making process when approached by Sky Sports News. UEFA had previously said VAR would check match-changing situations but only intervene for “clear and obvious mistakes.”
The tie featured three penalties. Arsenal took the lead from the spot in the first half when Viktor Gyokeres was bundled over from behind by Hancko and converted the resulting penalty. Atletico equalised after the break through Julian Alvarez when VAR spotted a handball by Ben White from a Marcos Llorente shot and sent Makkelie to the monitor; despite the ball deflecting off White’s knee into his hand, a penalty was awarded and converted.
Arteta acknowledged that handball interpretation in the Champions League has differed from the Premier League. “They have been consistent with that,” he said. “If you are going to give a penalty for this kind of thing you have to accept it.” The White decision followed a similarly contentious handball call that punished Alphonso Davies in Paris Saint-Germain’s win over Bayern Munich in the other semi-final, intensifying debate about the competition’s handball rulings.
Former Liverpool defender and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher added his voice on X, urging UEFA to clarify handball definitions in the Champions League. “The Champions League is the best football by a mile, but these penalty decisions for handball really are a stain on the competition. Last [night’s] was worse but that should not be a penalty against White,” he wrote.
When asked if Arsenal would lodge a protest with UEFA, Arteta replied: “I leave that to the club to decide what’s the best thing to do. Now they’re not going to give us a penalty. That’s it. That’s gone.”
Despite his anger at the officials, Arteta praised his players’ performance in a difficult environment. “I’m very proud, I said that to the boys, the way we handled the context for nine-and-a-half months, just remarkable. I really value what they’ve done because I’ve seen some of the best teams in the world here fall apart and concede three and four. We didn’t get the result that we wanted, and the way we planned the game, we wanted to win it. At least it is in our hands, in front of our people. We want to be in that final and in a week’s time we are going to have the opportunity to do so.”
