play Live Sign upShow navigation menuplay Live Click here to searchsearchSign upSport|FootballArsenal cruelly denied penalty by VAR in Champions League draw at AtleticoArsenal scored one penalty, but VAR controversially denied them another in a 1-1 semifinal draw at Atletico Madrid.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoArsenal's Eberechi Eze is fouled by Atletico Madrid's David Hancko, leading to a penalty being awarded and later overturned following a VAR review [Angel Martinez/Getty Images]By Kevin Hand, Reuters and The Associated PressPublished On 29 Apr 202629 Apr 2026Atletico Madrid and Arsenal traded penalties as Julian Alvarez’s second-half spot kick cancelled out Viktor Gyokeres’s first-half goal to earn the hosts a 1-1 draw in a Champions League semifinal first leg that simmered more than it sizzled.
In a tense and tactical game on Wednesday, Atletico enjoyed more possession early on, but handed Arsenal the lead in the 44th minute when Gyokeres was brought down by David Hancko inside the box.
The Sweden striker struck the penalty firmly past Jan Oblak to send Arsenal in at half-time ahead.
Atletico equalised in the 56th minute after the VAR spotted a Ben White handball inside the box from Marcos Llorente’s shot. Alvarez fired the resulting penalty into the top left corner beyond David Raya.
Antoine Griezmann rattled the crossbar a little later, while Arsenal were awarded a late penalty that the referee overturned after a VAR review.
The winners will face Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich in the May 30 final in Budapest, with PSG leading 5-4 from their first leg.
Atletico last made it to the Champions League final in 2016, when they lost to city rival Real Madrid.
