UCL: Referee made mistake as Inter beat Barcelona 4-3 – Wenger
Former Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, has claimed Barcelona were on the wrong end of a referee’s decision, as they lost 4-3 to Inter Milan in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final clash on Tuesday.
Barca came from two goals down to lead at the San Siro and looked to have booked their place in the final.
Lautaro Martinez gave the hosts the lead from a well-worked goal, before winning a penalty which Hakan Calhanoglu converted.
The spot-kick was awarded following a VAR review after Pau Cubarsi was adjudged to have tripped Martinez as he raced through on goal.
Referee Szymon Marciniak had initially waved play on, but overturned his decision eventually.
Wenger, speaking on beIN Sports, disagreed with the call.
“I am highly against these kinds of penalties and I am highly against using slow-motion,” he said.
“At normal pace, this is a great tackle, he’s first on the ball. Why does he touch him?
“Look what Lautaro is doing. He leans into him, he looks for the penalty, he knows he cannot score because he feels the defender there.
“The referee, in this situation, has not made the right decision. He [Cubarsi] is first to the ball and that’s what counts for me.”
Raphinha scored an 87th-minute goal to put the LaLiga giants 3-2 up on the night and 6-5 up on aggregate.
But Inter defender Francesco Acerbi volleyed home a dramatic equaliser to take the tie to extra-time, where Davide Frattesi scored the decisive goal.
UCL: Referee made mistake as Inter beat Barcelona 4-3 – Wenger
