When Real Madrid was given a penalty against Arsenal early in the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal match on Wednesday night, they must have believed their comeback was underway. However, following a protracted VAR review, the decision was overturned, and we now know why.
After defeating Los Blancos 3-0 in the rematch last week, the Gunners had the opportunity to end the match and increase their lead to 4-0 overall, but Bukayo Saka missed from the penalty spot after attempting a Panenka penalty, leaving him embarrassed. When Madrid was given a spot kick of their own shortly after, the Englishman must have been worried too.
VAR was used after it was determined that Declan Rice had brought Kylian Mbappe down inside the Arsenal area. They made the choice to investigate the incident, and it appears that they did, since they deliberated for more than five minutes. However, we now know why Madrid was finally denied the penalty.
VAR Determined Rice Didn’t Foul Mbappe
They were also checking whether it was offside
The incident was examined for more over five minutes after VAR was used. In addition to determining if there was a foul, they also looked at whether Mbappe had been offside. In the end, they suggested that referee Francois Letexier go to the monitor and examine it for himself.
Following this, he changed his mind and chose not to award Madrid a penalty, leaving supporters perplexed as to why. It has since been established that the officials’ decision that Rice did not, in fact, foul Mbappe in the box and that it ultimately had nothing to do with a possible offside was the reason. Rice had not fouled anyone, according to the explanation that was shown on the screens inside the Santiago Bernabeu after the call was made public. The Arsenal midfielder’s yellow card was revoked as a result of the ruling, and should Mikel Arteta’s team prevail, he won’t be suspended for the Champions League semifinal.
