Declan Rice Slams Decision To Overturn ‘Clear Penalty’ In Arsenal Draw

Declan Rice has doubled down on Mikel Arteta’s penalty fury by insisting Arsenal should have been awarded a “clear” spot-kick — and claimed the referee at the centre of the controversy was “provoked” to change his mind by Atlético Madrid’s hostile fans.

Arteta was incandescent after his side’s 1-1 draw in the opening leg of their Champions League semifinal in the Spanish capital after Danny Makkelie overturned his own decision to award the visitors a late penalty when Eberechi Eze was upended in the area.

Under Diego Simeone’s animated glare and against the backdrop of 70,000 whistling Atleti fans, Dutch referee Makkelie watched the incident 13 times before reversing his on-pitch verdict.

Reflecting on the contentious flashpoint, Rice said: “It’s a clear penalty. And I don’t know how that’s not been given.

“I think the fans provoked the decision and changed the ref’s mind.

“UEFA is totally different [to the Premier League]. In both boxes, you have to be so careful because they give absolutely everything.”

Two VAR interventions worked against Arsenal after Ben White was adjudged to have handled Marcos Llorente’s volley — which Julián Álvarez duly converted from the spot to cancel out Viktor Gyökeres’ opener, also a penalty.

Rice, who was speaking to Stan Sport, felt White was unfortunate.

He continued: “At first glance I thought if that’s in the Premier League it doesn’t get given because it’s so low to the ground. The ball’s not going on target.

“In the Champions League, referees are really quick to make decisions, and to blow their whistle, and you can’t do much about it. I feel like they penalise you more in European competitions. But it doesn’t matter. We move on to next week and we want to beat them.”

Reflecting on the contentious flashpoint, Rice said: “It’s a clear penalty. And I don’t know how that’s not been given.

“I think the fans provoked the decision and changed the ref’s mind.

“UEFA is totally different [to the Premier League]. In both boxes, you have to be so careful because they give absolutely everything.”

Two VAR interventions worked against Arsenal after Ben White was adjudged to have handled Marcos Llorente’s volley — which Julián Álvarez duly converted from the spot to cancel out Viktor Gyökeres’ opener, also a penalty.

Rice, who was speaking to Stan Sport, felt White was unfortunate.

He continued: “At first glance I thought if that’s in the Premier League it doesn’t get given because it’s so low to the ground. The ball’s not going on target.

“In the Champions League, referees are really quick to make decisions, and to blow their whistle, and you can’t do much about it. I feel like they penalise you more in European competitions. But it doesn’t matter. We move on to next week and we want to beat them.”