Featured Image Credit: Bein Sports
Topics: Arsene Wenger, Lautaro Martinez, Champions League, Football, VAR, Barcelona
Ben McCrum
Topics: Arsene Wenger, Lautaro Martinez, Champions League, Football, VAR, Barcelona
Arsene Wenger went on a furious rant after Lautaro Martinez won a penalty for Inter Milan in the Champions League clash with Barcelona.
After the first leg of the Champions League semi-final clash between Inter Milan and Barcelona ended as a thrilling 3-3 draw in Spain, all eyes turned to the San Siro on Tuesday for the deciding match.
Inter Milan's Martinez was the star player of the first half after scoring to give the hosts a lead before winning a penalty that doubled his side's scoreline going into half-time.
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However, not everyone thinks that Inter Milan should have been awarded a penalty for the incident, and former Arsenal manager Wenger has explained exactly why in a furious rant.
As Martinez found himself with a 1 on 1 with Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, it looked almost certain that he would find the back of the net and double his total for the game.
A last ditch tackle from Cubarsi Inges denied the Argentina international but, after a check from VAR, the referee decided to go against his initial decision and award a penalty as Cubarsi was deemed to have taken Martinez out before touching the ball.
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But Wenger doesn't agree, as he claimed that playing the incident back in slow motion made the incident look more severe than it was, arguing that it was a clean tackle and that Martinez was looking for the penalty.
Speaking on beIN Sports, Wenger said: "I'm highly against these kind of penalties. And I'm highly against using slow motion. On normal pace this is a great tackle and he's first on the ball.
"Why does he touch him? Look what Lautaro Martinez is doing, he leans into him, he looks for the penalty. He knows he will not score now because he feels him there.
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"The referee in this situation shows that he has not made the right decision.
"He's first on the ball and that for me is what counts, the rest is done by Lautaro Martinez. It doesn't matter if there is contact, it is who plays the ball and who wins the ball first."