Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was disgusted by the decision to award a penalty against Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsi on Tuesday night, as he made a last-ditch challenge on Inter star Lautaro Martinez. For Wenger, Martinez was playing for the penalty.
Inter pulled through in the dying minutes of the game against Barcelona, and struck the winner in the first half of extra time, but just as in the first leg, held a two-goal lead over the Catalan giants. The second came courtesy of a Hakan Calhanoglu penalty, which was awarded after a last man challenge from Cubarsi on the Argentine. At the time, it looked like an excellent challenge, but Martinez stayed down, referee Szymon Marciniak stopped the game during play to tend to him, and VAR subsequently asked him to review the incident.
Es difícil, porque se nota como Lautaro pone intencionalmente su pie de apoyo para recibir el impacto de la barrida, se lo comió por experiencia, contacto en el área es penal, si Cubarsi hubiera tocado o rozado antes del balón y pegaba no era penal.
— Tipico Santista (@Tipico_Santista) May 6, 2025
Wenger, who is notably also a FIFA Director for Global Development of the game, voiced his consternation at seeing the penalty given, as he told BeIN Sports after the match.
“I’m highly against these kinds of penalties. And highly against using the slow motion. At a normal pace, this is a great challenge, and he’s first on the ball. Look what he is doing Lautaro Martinez, he leans into him. He looks for the penalty. He knows he will not score now, because he feels him there.”
🗣️ "I'm highly against these kind of penalties…"
Arsene Wenger's view on the penalty awarded to @Inter.#beINUCL #InterBarça #UCL
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) May 6, 2025
“The referee for me has shown that he has got the decision wrong. Look he is first on the ball. And that is what for me counts. The rest is done by Lautaro Martinez. It doesn’t matter (if there is contact), for me it is who plays the ball and wins the ball first.”
President Laporta to the squad: "You can go out with your head held high, the fans are very proud of you. We are going to repeat this next year, and do even better." @fansjavimiguel
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) May 7, 2025
Barcelona players were frustrated with the refereeing performance after the game, with Pedri noting that ‘it is not the first time’ they felt Marciniak had made controversial calls against them. Marciniak’s decision not to award Barcelona a penalty on three separate appeals did not go down well, although refereeing experts have declared that he took the right decisions in each case.
