UEFA have issued a statement on Wednesday night, explaining why a Real Madrid penalty in the first half of their quarter-final second leg was chalked off.
UEFA clarified that Real Madrid’s first-half penalty was correctly overturned after VAR review, stating, “The penalty for Real Madrid has been taken away due to a non-foul by Declan Rice.” Referee François Letexier initially awarded the spot-kick for a challenge on Kylian Mbappe but reversed his decision following a lengthy VAR check.
The controversial call came after Letexier had earlier awarded Arsenal a penalty, but Bukayo Saka’s effort was saved by Thibaut Courtois. The decisions left the scoreline 0-0 at halftime, with Arsenal still leading 3-0 on aggregate.
The overturned decision sparked debate, but UEFA’s brief statement upheld the VAR intervention. Real Madrid, pushing for a comeback, were frustrated as Arsenal held firm defensively heading into the second half.
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