Arsenal fans have been left furious after they were not awarded a penalty against Real Madrid.
The Gunners hosted the European champions in the biggest night the Emirates has witnessed in years. Arsenal made a fast start to the game and thought they were about to be given a penalty.
A cutback from Gabriel Martinelli found Mikel Merino, who attempted to guide an effort goalwards.
His shot was blocked by Raul Asencio before the ball fell to Thomas Partey at the edge of the box, forcing Thibaut Courtois into a save to keep the match goalless.
But minutes later, with Real Madrid about to take a corner, referee Irfan Peljto was asked to halt the play while VAR took a closer look at the block from Asencio.
It was clear that the ball had struck Asencio’s arm and the review by VAR went on for a significant amount of time before they decided not to send Peljto to the screen. Signalling the game was clear to continue.
Merino’s shot hit Asencio from point blank range, with the defender making no attempt to make his body bigger to block the effort, nor did he move his arm towards the ball.
However, Arsenal fans felt they had been robbed of a penalty, with one user of X arguing: “That’s a handball. The hand was not in a natural position.” A second wrote: “Brother, how is that not handball? That’s a clear penalty ffs.”
Another said: “Handball rule is so broken these days.” While a fourth said: “vardrid that was clear handball & penalty”.
More to follow…
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