Arsenal FC were left furious after a late penalty decision was overturned in their 1-1 Champions League semi-final first leg against Atletico Madrid, with European football’s governing body now offering a brief explanation for the call.
The incident came in the closing stages when substitute Eberechi Eze went down under a challenge from Atletico defender David Hancko, prompting referee Danny Makkelie to initially point to the spot.
However, after a VAR review, the decision was overturned. Makkelie was instructed to consult the pitch-side monitor, where he reviewed multiple replays before ruling that no foul had occurred.
The decision immediately sparked outrage from Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who described the ruling as “completely unacceptable” and questioned how the original on-field decision could be reversed after repeated reviews.
In a short statement released after the match, UEFA said: “Atleti player, No 17, did not commit a foul on the opponent.” No further clarification was provided on why the VAR intervention led to the overturning of the penalty.
The lack of detail has only intensified debate around the decision-making process, especially given UEFA’s own guidelines state that VAR should only intervene in cases of “clear and obvious error.”
The match itself was already filled with controversy. Arsenal had earlier been awarded a penalty, converted by Viktor Gyökeres, before Atletico levelled through Julian Alvarez after another VAR intervention for handball against Ben White.
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice later criticised the late penalty decision, arguing that the crowd atmosphere influenced the referee’s reversal. “It’s a clear penalty… I think the fans provoked the decision,” he said.
Former referee Dermot Gallagher also weighed in, suggesting there was not enough evidence to overturn the on-field call, adding that once a penalty is awarded, the threshold for reversal should be extremely high.
The draw leaves the semi-final finely balanced ahead of the second leg, but the biggest talking point remains the consistency—and transparency—of VAR decisions at the highest level of European football.
