David Beckham has slammed referee Daniel Sievert for not awarding Atletico Madrid a penalty for a foul on Antoine Griezmann by Arsenal’s Riccardo Calafioli.
David Beckham claims referee Daniel Siebert made the wrong decision not to award Atletico Madrid a second-half penalty (Image: Getty)
David Beckham insists Atletico Madrid should have been awarded a second-half penalty in Tuesday’s Champions League match against Arsenal.
The Gunners ran out 1-0 winners on the night to advance 2-1 on aggregate and book their place in the final of Europe’s elite club competition for the first time in 20 years. Bukayo Saka’s first-half goal was enough to seal a showdown with either Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain later this month.
Atlético rarely got ahead, but found it difficult not to get a penalty when Riccardo Calafioli appeared to foul Antoine Griezmann inside the area. Footage showed Calafioli grabbing the side of Griezmann’s ankle as the Frenchman tried to skip past him.
read more: Diego Simeone shoves Arsenal manager Andrea Berta on the touchline as UEFA officials rush towards him
Referee Daniel Siebert had blown his whistle moments earlier for a foul on Gabriel Magalhães by Marc Poubil. But Beckham insisted Gabriel had not been fouled in the first place and that Atletico should have been awarded a spot-kick as they felt Griezmann had been brought down.
“Oh my god, that wasn’t a foul. That wasn’t a foul. That (Calafiori challenge) was! Yes! That wasn’t a foul on Gabriel,” Beckham said on Beckham & Friends.
Actor Tom Hiddleston hit back at Beckham’s claims, claiming the foul on Griezmann was “the same motion” as the foul on Eberechi Eze, which was not awarded in the first leg.
But Beckham responded: “Well, I didn’t think it was a penalty. I don’t think he touched him.”
Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann speaks with referee Daniel Sievert (Image: Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
Atleti manager Diego Simeone has given his verdict on the controversial moment between Griezmann and Calafioli after the match, revealing he “doesn’t want to think too deeply” about the incident.
“I’m not going to get hung up on simple issues like the Griezmann incident,” Simeone said. “It was very clear. We understand that Pabil committed a foul on one of the opponents. We believe he made the right decision in that situation.”
He added: “There is no point in discussing it further. We would be making excuses and we don’t want to look for excuses. There is nothing more to say. We have been eliminated from the tournament. We congratulate Arsenal. They put up a good fight and I praise their team and their manager.”
Asked to elaborate on his team’s overall performance at the Emirates Stadium, Simeone said: “We competed against an incredibly strong team and we have reached a place that no one could have imagined.
“I’m proud to be where I am. When we announced the team before the season, we said we would compete, and we did. Unfortunately we didn’t win anything, but we got to a place that’s not easy to get to.”
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