Aston Villa conceded one of the most bizarre penalties in Champions League history for Club Brugge’s opener on Wednesday evening.
Going into the clash in Belgium, Villa had won all three of their games in their return to Europe’s premier club cup competition and did not concede a single goal in games against Young Boys, Bayern Munich and Bologna.
But the first one that went past Emiliano Martinez was utterly farcical to say the least. Minutes into the second half, Martinez passed the ball out to the recently returning Tyrone Mings, who picked up the ball and placed it on the six-yard line to take the goal-kick.
Teams often do this, with the centre-back playing the ball back to their keeper to aid build-up. But because had used his hands and picked up the ball, the referee Tobias Stieler decided the goal-kick had been taken and instantly pointed to the spot and awarded an unbelievably controversial penalty which was converted by Brugge skipper Hans Vanaken.
The incident is even more controversial given a carbon-copy situation happened with Arsenal against Bayern in last season’s Champions League. On this occasion Gabriel picked up the ball in his own box after David Raya passed it to him at the Emirates.
Thomas Tuchel was left furious that referee Glenn Nyberg did not penalise the Gunners, claiming the official told his players on the pitch that he had seen it but it was “a kid’s mistake”, and adding that he “will not give a penalty” for it in a game of such importance.
“I think the referee did not have the courage today to give a deserved penalty in a bit of a crazy and awkward situation,” Tuchel told TNT Sports.
“But he admitted on the pitch that he saw the situation and that a quarter-final is not enough for him to give a penalty for his mistake.
“He admitted he knew about the mistake the player made and that is a bit frustrating.”
Mikel Arteta commented on the incident and said that “common sense” had been applied as no advantage had been given.
Featured Image Credit: TNT Sports
Topics: Aston Villa, Champions League