Why Arsenal Weren't Awarded Decisive Penalty in Champions League Final

Arsenal were denied their first taste of Champions League glory in heartbreaking fashion, as holders Paris Saint-Germain edged the Gunners on penalties.

The north Londoners, still high off their domestic success, enjoyed the perfect start in Budapest and certainly made PSG work infinitely harder than Inter Milan did a year ago. Kai Havertz's early goal allowed them to adopt a policy of containment, with Mikel Arteta's genius ploy of stockpiling a bundle of man-mountains to obstruct the paths to David Raya‘s goal working a treat.

The slick Parisians toiled with little reward, but their brilliance meant just a minor Arsenal blip was seized upon. They leveled from the penalty spot after Cristhian Mosquera was caught the wrong side of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and there was no question that German referee Daniel Siebert had made the right decision.

However, there remains a hot debate as to whether Siebert got his other major call correct. Arsenal thought they should've had a penalty themselves in extra time when Noni Madueke was brought to the ground by Nuno Mendes. Siebert waved their cries away, and the VAR opted against intervening.

Why Nuno Mendes Wasn't Penalized for Tussle With Noni Madueke

Madueke entered proceedings in place of Saka, who'd spent much of the final helping out Mosquera not contributing at all much offensively. His compatriot offered an injection of pace to Arsenal's sterile possession play, and an impressive burst past Mendes, on another day, could've resulted in a penalty kick.

In real time, it looked clumsy from the PSG left back, who was just behind Madueke in the foot race and had seemingly hauled the winger down.

However, replays showed that the initial contact between the pair started outside the box and carried on inside. Madueke was also the instigator, hooking Mendes's arm which forces the left back off balance and leads to the tumble. It's messy, but Siebert's on-field decision had to remain. This was no "clear and obvious" error.

"I've seen them given," was the general sentiment on broadcasts, but a former Premier League referee, Graham Scott, backed Siebert's call: "I watched the PSG defender's actions all through the challenge, and some angles suggested he had committed an offense, others didn't," he told The Athletic. "While the players were locking arms, they are both competing for space, but all the contact looks well within acceptable thresholds.

"I doubt a VAR would have seen enough to overturn a penalty had one been awarded. But ultimately I would rather defend the referee for keeping out of this one than try to build a defence had he succumbed to pressure and pointed to the spot."

Mikel Arteta said the incident "easily" could've led to a penalty, while Declan Rice, who was booked for his remonstrations, believed his team were hard done by: "I was gutted at the time because I thought the ref would go and have a look [at a replay on the pitchside monitor], but it was obviously not clear enough to be a penalty. I thought it was and so did our bench and our players."

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This story was originally published May 31, 2026 at 9:30 AM.