Wenger ‘highly against’ Inter penalty kick despite VAR | OneFootball

Former Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger believes Inter should not have been given a penalty kick for a Pau Cubarsí foul on Lautaro Martinez: ‘I’m highly against using slow motion. At normal pace, this is a great tackle.’

The Nerazzurri secured a memorable 4-3 win over Barcelona on Tuesday, qualifying for the Champions League Final for the second time in three years after a 7-6 aggregate win.

The Serie A giants had a big start, seeing Lautaro Martinez score the opening goal and earn a penalty kick converted by Hakan Calhanoglu.

Referee Szymon Marciniak gave the penalty kick after a pitchside VAR review, but Wenger argued that the official had taken the wrong decision.

“I’m highly against this kind of penalty, and I’m highly against using slow motion. At normal pace, this is a great tackle, and it’s first on the ball,” the ex-French coach told BeInSports.

“Look at what Lautaro Martinez is doing. He leans into him. He looks for the penalty. In this situation, the referee didn’t make the right decision. It doesn’t matter if there’s contact; it’s about who plays the ball and who wins the ball.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick and his players, especially Pedri, were highly critical of the officiating, somehow suggesting that Marciniak favoured the Serie A giants.

“Some 50-50 decisions all went Inter’s way, but that’s how it goes. I am proud of the team, I think the result is unfair and that some of the referee’s decisions were very good, but not in our favour,” Flick said.

“This is football, they deserved it, and their fans were excellent, but we will be back next season.”