Steve Mcmanaman: Arsenal penalty overturned after 45-second VAR review
Steve Mcmanaman was among the voices reacting after Arsenal had a second-half penalty overturned in Madrid against Atletico Madrid. Danny Makkelie sent the decision to the monitor, then spent 45 seconds there and watched 13 replays before taking the spot-kick away.
Hancko And Eze In Madrid
Eberechi Eze thought he had won Arsenal a penalty after going in front of David Hancko and going down under pressure. Arsenal were initially awarded the kick, but the referee’s review reversed it and left the second half at the center of the controversy.
The earlier turning point had already come in the first half, when Atletico Madrid’s lead was cancelled out after Ben White was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the box. That left both sides with a penalty decision in an incident-filled match, and the later call on Eze became the one that drew the sharpest reaction.
UEFA And Gerrard React
UEFA’s match-blog wrote: “Decision overturned: no penalty. Penalty cancelled - no foul. Atleti player, No17 (Hancko), did not commit a foul on the opponent.” The wording left little room for doubt about why the decision changed after the review.
Steven Gerrard was blunt about Diego Simeone’s involvement from the touchline, saying, “Simeone is crazy, slapping his players on the back of the head.” He added, “Simeone, I think he played a big part,” then later said, “I have to agree. I don't think it was clear enough or a obvious mistake from the referee.” Gerrard also said, “When you actually look at the incident, it would have been a soft penalty.”
Keown And Fletcher On Simeone
Martin Keown took aim at the standard of the review. “I simply don't think it was clear and obvious,” he said. “The referee should be able to referee the game.” Keown also added, “VAR has got too involved.”
Darren Fletcher described Simeone as “literally five yards behind the screen, bellowing at the ref, waving at the ref,” and added, “It's not been a good night in the Champions League for these types of decisions.” He also said, “If there was ever a time to get a yellow card for trying to influence a referee it was then.”
For Arsenal, the result of the review was the real change: a penalty was taken off the board in a match where the first-half balance had already been shaped by a spot-kick decision at the other end. That left the second-half call, and the 45 seconds Makkelie spent at the screen, as the defining sequence.
