Steven Gerrard made sure that former Arsenal defender Martin Keown acknowledged Mikel Arteta’s touchline antics after the Gunners drew 1-1 with Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
Keown pointed out Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone’s efforts to influence the match officials during the Champions League semi-final encounter, which turned out to be a tale of three penalties.
Victor Gyokeres won and scored a spot-kick for the Gunners on the brink of half-time, before Julian Alvarez also made no mistake from the spot 11 minutes into the second half.
Eberechi Eze thought he had won Arsenal’s second penalty late on, but referee Danny Makkelie’s on-field decision was controversially overturned after a VAR check.
Steven Gerrard Shuts Down Martin Keown
martin keown
Both Gerrard and Keown criticised the behaviour of Simeone and his backroom staff during the late penalty incident, as the Spanish manager was animated when the official went to the VAR screen to reassess his original decision. Gerrard said:
“I think we need to see more of that across the board, referees have to have the bravery when they go there, they've made a decision and when they've seen it with their own eyes, they need the bravery to stick with their own decision because it wasn't a clear and obvious mistake.
“Everyone knows that, there was an impact from the bench, they're brilliant at that - Martin won't like it - but it's gamesmanship.
“Before the referees looked at the screen, Simeone is in his face, waving his arms then he's in his ear, it's a performance, he's the best at doing it.”
Keown responded: “He [Simeone] orchestrates the crowd. He does that as well, he creates a drama, the way he's running around.”
Gerrard then pushed back, pointing out that Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta operates in a similar way:
“Arteta does that as well in the Premier League, Arteta does that as well.”
Keown replied: “Yeah but not with the same sort of success. This guy (Simeone) is the master.”
Gerrard added: “Yeah but Martin we're not talking about their stats, we're talking about Arsenal.”
“But Simeone is ahead of everybody,” Keown interjected.
Gerrard continued: “Both managers will need a lie down, they never stopped.”
Keown concluded: “It'd be interesting to have a tracker to see the amount of distance.”
UEFA Release Statement After Atletico vs Arsenal
Arsenal Atletico
UEFA has issued a statement explaining why Arsenal’s late penalty was overturned in Wednesday’s draw with Atletico Madrid, stating that David Hancko’s challenge on Eze was not enough to warrant a spot-kick.
“Atleti player, No 17, did not commit a foul on the opponent.”
Former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett delivered a strong verdict on the controversial call, saying VAR’s intervention left him ‘amazed’.
Ex-Premier League referee Mark Halsey also believes VAR ‘should have never got involved’, as it was not a clear and obvious error by Makkelie to award a penalty.