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Mikel Arteta expressed his frustration after Arsenal was denied a penalty in their Champions League semi-final against Atlético Madrid. The match ended in a 1-1 draw, with both teams awarded penalties during the game.
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Mikel Arteta described Âhimself as âincredibly fumingâ after ÂArsenal were denied a penalty that might have given them a lead to take from the first leg of their ÂChampions League semi-final against ÂAtlĂ©tico 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 Artetaâs horror, ÂMakkelie 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 â one for Arsenal for a Hancko foul on Viktor Gyökeres, which was hotly contested by ÂAtlĂ©tico. Gyökeres scored. And one for AtlĂ©tico for a Ben White Âhandball that he knew very little about, the ball blasted at him by Marcos Llorente. JuliĂĄn Alvarez converted. The match finished 1-1.
âWe were disappointed for the AtlĂ©tico penalty,â Arteta said. âIn the Premier League, itâs not a penalty but here I have to accept that with the rules and how consistent theyâve been, I accept that this is a handball.
âWhat Iâm incredibly Âfuming with is how the hell the penalty on Ebs gets overturned in the Âmanner that it happened when there is no clear and obvious error. This changes the course of the game. And at this level, Iâm sorry but this cannot happen.
âA very clear explanation of the decision is what happens for a period of time [when] a referee has to watch it 13 times. Whatâs more clear than that? Itâs impossible and we are all fuming about it. We need to apply the rules ⊠[the way] they applied the rules on Ben Whiteâs penalty.
âWhen you have fought so hard for nine months to be in this Âposition ⊠I mean, thatâs 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.
âThere 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 itâs Âcompletely unacceptable.â
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. âIâm very proud,â Arteta said. âIâve seen some of the best teams in the world fall apart here and concede three and four. We didnât get the result we wanted. But at least it is in our hands, in front of our people.â
Arsenal was denied a penalty after referee Danny Makkelie reviewed the incident on the pitchside monitor and decided the contact was not strong enough.
Mikel Arteta described himself as 'incredibly fuming' over the decision to deny Arsenal a penalty.
The match featured two penalties awarded, one for Arsenal and one for Atlético, ending in a 1-1 draw.

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