After a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Lille, Atlético Madrid is in a state of total outrage regarding the controversial penalty awarded by referee Marco Guinda at a crucial moment in the match when the score was tied at 1-1. The decision has left the Rojiblancos baffled, even after reviewing multiple replays. This penalty awarded in the 70th minute proved to be a significant blow from which Atlético could not recover.
Post-match, Diego Pablo Simeone faced the media, still in disbelief over the penalty call: “We were reviewing the incident where it hit their player’s hand, and he got it confused. They must have thought it was Koke. I can imagine that because, from the footage, there is clearly no handball. But we have to accept it; it’s part of the mistakes that happen in this game. Who knows what they were told since the image wasn’t re-shown anywhere?”
In a moment of frustration, Simeone even asked the journalist interviewing him: “What did you see?” The journalist confirmed that he shared the same view as the Atlético manager: “I see nothing. It clearly hits the Lille player’s hand, but that’s all there is to it.” Simeone insisted on exploring other angles of the incident, stating: “We looked at Koke’s feet to see if he stepped on someone, but that wasn’t the case. We get charged with a penalty and it’s now 2-1, which complicates the match for us.”
In a subsequent question, he reiterated his anger: “It wasn’t a penalty. He called what he imagined happened but did not see what he imagined. Clearly, he didn’t see it, and neither did those assisting him in VAR. What can you do?”
Simeone emphasized the decisive nature of the penalty: “The penalty is the play that tips the game in your favor or against it, but it doesn’t matter to anyone. Yes, we lost three points, but nothing will happen to the referee or the VAR officials. So, we must stay calm and accept that sometimes it goes your way, and sometimes it doesn’t.”
During the press conference, he summarized the situation further: “There’s nothing. Someone needs to explain why it was a penalty. Hand or no hand, Koke against two players… I hope we can see something and say UEFA got it right. I hope one day we have a decision go our way and that these situations, which are part of football, favor us.”
Jan Oblak spoke to the media at pitch side and noted he had not had time to see the television replays but explained what the referee conveyed on the field: “I don’t know; he said it was a handball, but I don’t know what he blew for. No one understands; I hope he does. We can’t complain about the referee because we had chances to turn the match around,” adding that “we talked about the hand, as the referee was saying it was a hand. He called it as such. Then I don’t know what happened. The referee said they were checking for the handball, and it wasn’t a handball; I don’t know what it was. It’s unbelievable. It harmed us. I haven’t seen the play. I know they checked for a hand. Apparently, the camera was looking for the hand, and I don’t know what happened. They will provide explanations, and we will see what he called for.”
A similar experience was echoed by Julián Alvarez, who was further away from the play. “I didn’t see it well on the field, but I heard it was a handball, but from what they say, watching the video, nothing was seen,” adding that it was a key moment since “it resulted in them going 2-1 ahead. We were still tied with plenty of time left. It was indeed a decisive moment in the match.”
For now, the club has not decided to file a complaint with UEFA regarding this incident where VAR did not correct the Italian referee Marco Guinda’s call of a non-existent handball.
