By Bonface Mulyungi
Former Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has launched a furious attack on the officiating during Arsenal’s heartbreaking UEFA Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, insisting the Gunners were “absolutely robbed” after being denied a crucial penalty involving Noni Madueke.
Arsenal saw their dream of winning a first-ever Champions League title slip away as PSG claimed a dramatic victory in Budapest following a fiercely contested final.
While the result ultimately went in favour of the French giants, much of the post-match discussion has centred on a controversial penalty appeal involving Madueke that was waved away by referee Daniel Siebert and left Arsenal players and supporters enraged.
The incident occurred during extra time when Madueke drove into the PSG penalty area and went to ground under a challenge from Nuno Mendes.
Arsenal immediately appealed for a spot-kick, but neither the referee nor VAR deemed the contact sufficient to award a penalty.
Rooney was among those left stunned by the decision and took to social media to deliver a scathing verdict on the officiating.
“I’ll be completely honest, Arsenal were absolutely robbed tonight, there is no other way to put it. You look at that foul on Noni Madueke in the box; it’s a stonewall, 100% clear penalty. How the referee or VAR hasn’t given that is beyond me, and it completely changes the dynamic of a Champions League final.
The former England striker did not stop there. Rooney also highlighted what he believed was another questionable decision when the referee blew for halftime as Arsenal were preparing to take a corner kick.
“But for me, the moment that truly gave it away — the moment you knew exactly what the referee was doing — was that halftime whistle”
” To blow the whistle right as Arsenal are literally standing there about to take a corner? I’ve played this game a long time, and you rarely see that unless there’s a blatant bias. It was shocking, and it set the tone for everything that followed.”
Arsenal had produced an impressive display against the reigning European champions.
Mikel Arteta’s side opened the scoring through Kai Havertz and pressed aggressively throughout the contest, becoming one of the few teams to consistently trouble PSG over the course of 120 minutes.
However, Rooney felt the officiating became increasingly one-sided as the match progressed.
“In the second half, it became a totally different game, and not because of the football”
” The referee made absolutely sure that every single 50/50 call, every little nudge, and every major decision went straight to PSG. It completely killed Arsenal’s momentum.”
The controversial non-call sparked heated protests from Arsenal’s bench, with Arteta and several players visibly frustrated as the match slipped away from them.
Rooney also claimed that the final was not the first time Arsenal had suffered from questionable officiating in this season’s competition.
“But to be fair, I’m not even surprised. We saw the exact same story when they played Bayern Munich earlier in the tournament. The officiating was heavily skewed then, and it’s happened again on the biggest stage.”
Despite PSG eventually lifting the trophy, Rooney believes the circumstances surrounding their triumph will continue to be debated long after the celebrations have ended.
“PSG might be lifting the trophy, but they cannot honestly look at themselves in the mirror and be proud of the way they’ve won this final. To win the biggest prize in club football like that? It leaves a horrible taste. Arsenal deserved so much more tonight.” Hey said.
