Diego Simeone faces criticism for pressuring officials during a VAR review in Atletico Madrid's draw with Arsenal. Referee Danny Makkelie reversed a penalty decision after reviewing the incident multiple times.
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Simeone and his players pressured referee Danny Makkelie as he reversed a penalty decision (PA)
Diego Simeone has come under criticism for pressuring the referee and fourth official as they made key VAR calls during Atletico Madrid’s draw with Arsenal, with Steve McManaman calling the Argentine’s behaviour “atrocious”.
The Atletico boss has long been known for his explosive touchline demeanour, and he was once again at the centre of things as he put pressure on fourth official Serdar Gozubuyuk and referee Danny Makkelie as the Dutchman reviewed a decision to award Arsenal a penalty.
Makkelie originally awarded the Gunners a penalty as David Hancko appeared to trip Eberechi Eze in the Atletico box, though he was sent to the VAR monitor and eventually overturned the original decision after watching 13 replays of the original incident.
While Simeone could not be seen remonstrating with either Makkelie or Gozubuyuk, TNT Sports commentator Darren Fletcher pointed out the Argentine’s antics and question whether it might be enough to influence the officials. Clips on social media later showed the Atleti boss approaching Makkelie and shouting, clearly encouraging him to overturn the decision.
Diego Simeone pressured the referee and fourth official while they reviewed a penalty decision during the match.
The penalty was overturned after referee Danny Makkelie reviewed the incident on VAR and determined there was no foul.
Steve McManaman criticized Simeone's behavior, describing it as 'atrocious' for pressuring the officials.
The VAR review was prompted by a foul call against David Hancko for allegedly tripping Eberechi Eze in the box.
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(AP)
And the TNT Sports pundits agreed after the final whistle, with Martin Keown highlighting the “drama” that Simeone creates.
“Simeone, his actions to the sideline, the drama that he creates, the scenes around it, the referee in the end I felt buckled under the pressure, went to the screen and didn’t stand by his decision,” said the former Arsenal defender.
“Simeone, I think he played a big part. From a coaching point of view, his behaviour there, he was in the referees eyesight coming over,” added Steven Gerrard.
And former Liverpool midfielder McManaman agreed, pointing out “the constant haranguing of the fourth official”.
“The behaviour of Diego Simeone and his assistants – when the referee was trying to come over and look at the monitor - was atrocious. I guarantee if that was in the opposite box, Simeone would be going apoplectic for the penalty. And his behaviour is absolutely awful,” explained McManaman.
Eze was clipped by David Hancko in the penalty area but the decision was overturned (AP)
The pundits were also universally in agreement that the call to overturn the original decision for a penalty was the wrong one, with McManaman stating that he thought Makkelie “had an awful game” as referee.
“Once he gives it and there’s contact, it’s not a clear and obvious error. He shouldn’t go back and re-ref it again,” said McManaman.
“I don’t think it was clear and obvious mistake from the referee, I’m surprised he got sent to the screen in the first place. When you look at the incident it would have been a soft penalty, there was minimal contact, but I think it’s really harsh on Arsenal to overturn that because it’s not a clear and obvious mistake from the referee,” added Gerrard.
“I don’t want to go too far with it, but something was very wrong there tonight,” said Keown, before adding that “Arsenal were magnificent”.
“The storm was difficult to weather, they did that, and in the end Arsenal looked totally on top. That they didn’t get the moment of justice for them was hard to take,” he added.
The Gunners will host Atletico at the Emirates in the second leg on Tuesday, 5 May, with the winner facing either PSG or Bayern Munich in the final at the end of the month.