Arsenal had to endure many periods of pressure from Atletico Madrid, including one moment where the Emirates Stadium crowd feared a penalty was going to be given
21:35, 05 May 2026Updated 21:55, 05 May 2026
Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori challenged Atletico Madrid attacker Antoine Griezmann in the box
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Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori challenged Atletico Madrid attacker Antoine Griezmann in the box(Image: beIN Sports)
Former Champions League referee Mark Clattenburg has explained why Atletico Madrid were not given a penalty against Arsenal.
In the second half, the Emirates Stadium crowd took a deep breath when Riccardo Calafiori seemingly scythed down Antoine Griezmann in the penalty area.
The Italian made contact on the Frenchman's calf and many feared Diego Simeone's side were going to be given a chance to equalise from the penalty spot. However, a VAR check was carried out but a spot-kick was not given.
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Clattenburg explained it was not given because a foul on Gabriel Magalhaes had been committed by Atletico full-back Marc Pubill before the Calafiori challenge.
Speaking on Amazon Prime, the English former referee said: "I think what the VAR has looked at is Calafiori's challenge on Grizemann. He believes that's a penalty kick, and replays show it was, but there was a foul just before on Gabriel.
"So they had to check the foul first and he agrees with the referee's analysis of a foul. Therefore, the foul outweighs the penalty kick."
Giuliano Simeone of Atletico de Madrid is challenged by Riccardo Calafiori of Arsenal during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Semi Final Second Leg match between Arsenal FC and Atletico de Madrid at Arsenal Stadium on May 05, 2026 in London, England.
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Calafiori was at the heart of two Atletico penalty shouts(Image: 2026 The Arsenal Football Club Plc)
It was the second time in the clash VAR took a brief moment to take a look at a potential Atletico penalty. Not too long before that tackle, Gabriel tussled with Giuliano Simeone in the 18-yard box.
However, the same conclusion of no penalty was reached. Earlier in the game, Arsenal also felt they could have potentially had a penalty when Griezmann appeared to shove Leandro Trossard in the back.
Neither Daniel Siebert on the pitch, his assistants or the VAR felt there was enough contact to warrant an Arsenal penalty.
Bukayo Saka of Arsenal celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Semi Final Second Leg match between Arsenal FC and Atletico de Madrid at Arsenal Stadium on May 05, 2026 in London, England
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Bukayo Saka got on the scoresheet as Arsenal reached the Champions League final(Image: 2026 The Arsenal Football Club Plc)
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At the time of the second spot-kick shout against Calafiori, Arsenal were withstanding several Atletico attacks. They were still defending their first half lead, which was amassed by Saka finding the net from close range.
The Gunners' star boy showed the instincts of a striker when he responded to Jan Oblak pushing Viktor Gyokeres' low shot out by pouncing on the rebound and sticking it into the back of the net.
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