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Evan Shaw

Wed 6 May 2026 6:45, UK

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Gabriel rightly avoided conceding a penalty and being given a red card during Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night.

That is the view of ex-FIFA referee and former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett, who has exclusively told Football Insider that there was “insufficient evidence” to justify a penalty being awarded, or a red card being shown.

The incident came with Arsenal 1-0 up in the 51st minute of the second-leg clash, as Guiliano Simeone was bundled over with the goal gaping after he pounced on William Saliba’s error to round David Raya.

Referee Daniel Siebert was unmoved, and his decision was upheld after a VAR review, leaving Bukayo Saka’s 45th-minute effort enough to send Arsenal into the Champions League final.

Arsenal’s victory over Atletico has set up a date with either Bayern Munich or PSG in the 30 May final, but it could have been different had the Gabriel incident been viewed in another way.

Keith Hackett in no doubt over Gabriel penalty shout

Diego Simeone and his Atletico team were left fuming when Siebert waved away their appeals, as they were left with just a corner rather than a penalty and a possible red card.

Gabriel could have easily received his marching orders for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity, but the officiating team felt that there was not enough contact to make either call.

It could have changed the entire complexion of the tie with around 40 minutes left to play, and the incident has provided a major source of controversy.

However, Hackett feels that the referee and VAR were correct in their view of the challenge, which he believes was not enough to warrant a penalty or a red.

“This is certainly very untidy defending by Gabriel, who puts his left arm on the shoulder of his opponent,” Hackett told Football Insider.

“I do not believe that contact is sufficient to award a penalty kick followed by a red card for the obvious denial of a goal-scoring opportunity, when Simeone feels the arm, he starts to lean backwards into his opponent.

“VAR then has to look closely at the ongoing challenge where the feet of Gabriel came into contact with his opponent.

“VAR have reviewed this, and there is insufficient evidence to award a penalty kick and to issue a red card for DOGSO.”

Arsenal unfortunate not to have a penalty of their own

Football Insider paid close attention to the referee’s performance during Arsenal’s win over Atletico, as Siebert made some questionable decisions throughout the evening.

One of those came in just the seventh minute of the action, when he waved away appeals from the hosts after Riccardo Calafiori was dragged to the ground inside the visitors’ penalty area.

The Italian was trying to get on the end of a cross from deep, but was hauled down by Marcos Llorente, who was completely unaware of where the ball was as it was delivered.

The midfielder had his eyes locked firmly on Calafiori throughout the incident, and was forced to bring him down in order to defend his run.

A swift VAR check decided that it was not enough to warrant a penalty for Arsenal, but they could certainly have counted themselves unlucky not to have been handed the chance to score from 12 yards.