Many affiliated with Arsenal believe they should have been given a penalty in the Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, but one referee has had their say
12:47, 31 May 2026Updated 12:57, 31 May 2026
Noni Madueke of Arsenal is challenged by Nuno Mendes of Paris Saint-Germain during the UEFA Champions League Final 2026 match between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal FC at Puskas Arena on May 30, 2026 in Budapest, Hungary
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Many thought Arsenal were going to get a penalty after this collision(Image: 2026 Getty Images)
Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett believes Arsenal should have been awarded a crucial penalty in their Champions League final loss to Paris Saint-Germain.
The Gunners were left heartbroken when Eberechi Eze and Gabriel Magalhaes both missed their penalty kicks against PSG. However, in extra-time, Arsenal thought they were going to get an opportunity to win it from the spot, when Noni Madueke got tangled up with Nuno Mendes.
Madueke looked to have got past the Portuguese defender, but after the pair made contact with each other, they both went down in the penalty area. Referee Daniel Siebert waved away Arsenal's protestations while VAR decided not to intervene. Declan Rice, who was booked for dissent after the decision was not given, said he was sure it was a penalty at the time, but wanted to have another look.
OPINION
Author avatarTom Canton
The Gunners' midfielder was not the only one as Hackett agreed with Rice's opinion on the penalty. Hackett said: "The referee was firm in his decision not to award a penalty kick, satisfied that no offence had taken place.
"The referee said no, and VAR, viewing the replays, decided that there was not a clear and obvious error by the match referee to meet the criteria to send the referee to the screen. Without question, I think we can all say that we have seen these given.
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"I suspect the referee judged that the Arsenal player was doing the holding. Frankly, in these tight decisions, I would like the referee to have a second look to determine the accuracy of such an important call.”
After the match, Rice said: "I've not seen it back yet. At first glance on the pitch, I thought Noni was ahead of Nuno Mendes.
"And looking back at the one we got against Bayer Leverkusen, it was very, very similar. I'm not going to get into it now.
Declan Rice of Arsenal reacts as the Referee shows him a yellow card during the UEFA Champions League Final 2026 match between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal FC at Puskas Arena on May 30, 2026 in Budapest, Hungary
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Rice was handed a yellow card after he protested the decision not to give Arsenal a penalty(Image: 2026 Getty Images)
"Obviously I was gutted at the time because I thought the ref would go and have a look. But it was obviously not clear enough to be a penalty and I thought it was and so did our bench and so did our players."
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Arteta was more certain in his view Arsenal should have been given a spot-kick, insisting several of those scenarios have been given as penalties this season. The Arsenal boss said to TNT Sports: "I watch it back and it could easily be a penalty.
"Especially we see the penalty they gave this year in the competition this season. The referee made a decision, and he made a different one with Cristhian Mosquera and that is an important one."
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