Diego Simeone’s behaviour during Atletico Madrid’s draw with Arsenal in the Champions League semi-final has been described as ‘atrocious’ by Steve McManaman.
Arsenal thought they had been awarded the third penalty of the game in Madrid on Wednesday night when Eberechi Eze was seemingly tripped by David Hancko. Dutch referee Danny Makkelie gave a spot kick on the field, but was asked to go to the monitor to assess the decision.
After 45 seconds of checking his call and 13 replays, the official changed the decision, much to the dismay of Mikel Arteta – but the pleasure of Simeone.
As Makkelie made his way towards the monitor to check the call, Simeone rushed out of his technical area – the space in which managers are allowed to be in during play – to give his thoughts, and waved his hands in the air as the video was played.
When the decision was overturned, Simeone ran over to players and gave a number of them a push in a bid to encourage them, but the way he acted didn’t go down well with former Real Madrid midfielder McManaman.
‘We are talking about VAR again,’ McManaman said on TNT Sports. ‘I absolutely hate it – hate, hate, hate it. It spoils the game.
Diego Simeone has received backlash to his behaviour during Atletico Madrid’s draw with Arsenal in the Champions League
Simeone was seen outside his technical area trying to influence the referee when a penalty awarded to Arsenal was overturned
‘I look at the behaviour of Diego Simeone and his assistants when the referee was trying to come over to the monitor – it was atrocious. The constant haranguing of the fourth official.
‘Once he gives it and there’s contact, it’s not a clear and obvious error, he shouldn’t go back to re-ref it again. It baffles me but I thought he had an awful game.
‘If that happened in the opposite box, Simeone would be going apoplectic for a penalty, and his behaviour is awful, honestly it’s awful.’
He added: ‘We could see what was going on and his behaviour and his No 2 was terrible, absolutely awful. That’s why people don’t like the dark arts and Atletico Madrid.’
Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown echoed his colleague’s views. He said: ‘I simply don’t think it was clear and obvious. The referee should be able to referee the game. The VAR has got too involved. It is not what we wanted with VAR, it’s not part of the protocol really.
‘Simeone though, his actions on the sidelines… the drama that he creates and the scenes around it… the referee in the end I thought buckled under the pressure, went to the screen and didn’t stand by his decision. I don’t think he should have even been made to go to the screen.’
He added: ‘You need to keep your decorum after a game, and I don’t want to go too far with it, but something was very wrong there tonight. He orchestrates the crowd here but he orchestrates the officials too. He creates a drama.’
When it was put to him by Steven Gerrard that Arsenal’s Arteta does similar, Keown replied: ‘Not with the same success of this man, he is a master.’
Steve McManaman (left) said Simeone’s behaviour was ‘atrocious’ and ‘awful’ – with Martin Keown (right) echoing his views
The outcry came after Eberechi Eze was apparently tripped by David Hancko in the second-half of the game
After the decision was made to overturn the initial call, Simeone could be seen gesturing for Eze to be given a yellow card for simulation.
After full-time, meanwhile, he was spotted rowing with Gunners defender Ben White as he made his way off the field.
Arteta said of the penalty decision: ‘Extremely disappointed. I don’t understand it because it is against the rules and it changes the path of the tie.
‘The whole sequence… the clear contact, you can’t overturn the decision when you have to look at it for 13 times. At this level it is unacceptable.’
