Harry Kane was furious that Gabriel’s handball fiasco against Bayern Munich last night was the ‘clearest penalty I have ever seen’.
Arsenal defender Gabriel handled the ball in the second half after David Raya played a short pass to him, with Bayern leading 2–1 at the time.
Referee Glenn Nyberg had blown his whistle, but there was a misunderstanding, with Gabriel thinking he was taking the goal kick.
Nyberg was lenient and allowed play to continue – a decision that sparked anger on the pitch, on the sidelines and in Germany – before Arsenal equalized through Leandro Trossard.
“We should have had a clear penalty when the referee blew his whistle,” Kane said.
Harry Kane was furious that Bayern Munich were not awarded a penalty in the second half against Arsenal
He called Gabriel’s handling of the ball after David Raya’s pass “the clearest penalty I have ever seen”
Gabriel thought Raya put him on the tee to take the goal kick and referee Glenn Nyberg let him off the hook – even though he had blown the whistle
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‘The goalkeeper passed the ball and Gabriel took it in his hands. That’s the clearest punishment I’ve ever seen.’
Bayern had to settle for a 2-2 draw in an exciting match. Bukayo Saka had given Arsenal the lead in the first half, but Serge Gnabry equalized and Kane put them ahead from the spot.
Muller was seething over the decision to release Gabriel. He said: ‘The referee saw it clearly. The mistake was simply too stupid and insignificant to award a penalty. But he doesn’t have to decide that.
‘The referee is there to enforce the rules. Even if you may not be happy with the rule. I don’t think the rule says, okay, if it wasn’t intentional, put the ball back down for a goal kick… I don’t know what it says. I think it is a clear punishment.’
Thomas Tuchel was apoplectic when speaking about the referee’s compensation for Gabriel, calling Nyberg’s justification ‘terrible’.
“For me and for all of us, he (the referee) made a big mistake by not giving a handball penalty,” he said.
‘I know it’s a crazy situation, but they put the ball down, he whistles, he gives the ball and the defender [Gabriel] takes the ball in his hand.
‘What really makes us angry is the explanation on the pitch. He told our players that it was a “child’s mistake” and that he would not give such a penalty in a quarter-final.
“This is a horrible, horrible statement. He judges handballs. A child’s mistake, an adult’s mistake. Whatever. We are angry because it is a huge decision against us.”
The German tabloid Bild felt that Bayern had been robbed and began their piece on the controversy with the exclamation: ‘That would have been a victory!’
Thomas Tuchel was furious with the referee’s decision not to award Bayern a second penalty
Bayern couldn’t believe their eyes, with German tabloid Bild saying: ‘That could have been a win!’
Even on English shores, the view among experts is that Arsenal – and Gabriel – have escaped an ignominious punishment for his mistake.
While Gabriel’s mistake was understandable – he clearly thought Raya was setting him up to take the goal kick – it is clear at the highest level that he dodged a bullet.
Rio Ferdinand told TNT Sports: ‘It’s a pen, oh my god. How can that not be given?
‘I was so adamant about that [Bukayo] Saka’s was: I’m even more in favor of this. It’s unbelievable. How can he blow the whistle like that and not give it?’
Martin Keown branded it ‘absolutely indefensible’ and added: ‘The referee may be a bit out of his league.
“We thought he played a decent game, but there are important moments in the game that both teams can look at.”
If Bayern were furious about that situation, at least Nyberg didn’t give in when Saka went down in the 93rd minute.
Saka stuck his right leg out to the onrushing Manuel Neuer and went down, and Mikel Arteta then marched onto the pitch to complain to Nyberg.
Experts Rio Ferdinand and Martin Keown were in disbelief about the decision after the final whistle
After commenting, Ally McCoist decided it was not a foul. “The referee may have understood that correctly because I don’t think Saka needs to throw his right leg into him,” he said.
The Scottish football icon added: ‘He was certainly there first, but there is an element – he throws his right leg into him.’
Co-commentator Owen Hargreaves also agreed with McCoist’s views on the controversial incident.
However, Ferdinand and Keown disagreed in the studio.
‘Why isn’t that given?’ Ferdinand asked. ‘With VAR, with everything, I can’t believe that wasn’t given.’
Former Arsenal defender Keown said: ‘Neuer actually goes towards that ball, he comes out and takes on the challenge. For me that is a punishment all day long.’
At the end of a chaotic match, a scoreline of 2-2 leaves everything to play for in the second leg at the Allianz Arena next Wednesday.
Later in the match, Nyberg ruled in Arsenal’s favor when Bukayo Saka went down after colliding with Manuel Neuer
Bayern came into this after two consecutive defeats in the Bundesliga, while Arsenal are flying at the top of the Premier League.
Bayern’s most recent defeat was a humiliating 3-2 loss to minnows Heidenheim, who overturned a 2-0 deficit in the second half.