Diego Simeone has expressed dissatisfaction with officiating in Atletico Madrid’s 1-0 defeat at Arsenal on Tuesday night, although he believes his side could have done better to secure a favourable result.
Los Rojiblancos suffered a narrow defeat at the Emirates Stadium which sent them packing from the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League on a 2-1 aggregate result to Arsenal.
Both sides drew 1-1 at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano in last week’s first leg, but Atletico fell short of reaching the Champions League final once again.
Speaking after the match, Simeone was unhappy with some of the decisions made by the officials which went against his side in the match.
“If we got knocked out it’s because our opponent deserved to go through…if you ask me how I feel I feel calm. My team gave everything but we weren’t clinical…we were competing with a team that had so much strength and talent”, Simeone said.
“The Griezmann incident is very obvious. We initially thought (referee Daniel Siebert) had made the right decision. I’m not going to focus on it, I don’t want to, because that would be making excuses and I don’t feel like doing that”, he added, making reference to an incident involving Antoine Griezmann.
Bukayo Saka scored the only goal of the game few minutes before halftime when he reacted quickest to a rebound after Jan Oblak had saved a shot from Leandro Trossard.
It marked Arsenal’s first Champions League final in 20 years and gives them a real chance of winning their first European crown.
“It makes no sense to talk about that clear penalty on Griezmann, it doesn’t make sense to talk about it now. Sometimes referees’ decisions can be good for us, sometimes not. Tonight, we were unlucky”, Simeone continued.
Atletico Madrid will now turn their attention to the La Liga this weekend when they face Celta Vigo, hoping to return to winning ways.
Olakitan is a young writer with a strong passion for sports, having gained experience with IndyPress and Nimelssa Press. His enthusiasm for sports inspired him to cover events both within his school and beyond. With a deep understanding of the game and a refined skillset, he brings sports coverage to a broad, global audience in a way that’s engaging and accessible.
