LONDON (AP) — Atletico Madrid's hopes of winning the Champions League title for the first time ended in a semifinal loss to Arsenal in which two second-half penalty decisions didn't go its way Tuesday.
Arsenal won 1-0 to advance to its first final in two decades 2-1 on aggregate. Atletico was trying to return to the final for the first time since 2016.
Atletico was looking for an equalizer when Giuliano Simeone felt he was fouled inside the area in the 51st minute. The Atletico player got past goalkeeper David Raya and was taking his shot when defender Gabriel came from behind to disrupt his attempt.
Simeone fell and loudly complained to German referee Daniel Siebert. Video review maintained the referee's decision on the field to not award the penalty.
“It was all very fast but what I felt was that when I was taking the shot he destabilized me and I couldn’t shoot well. It’s what I felt," Simeone said. "The referee didn’t even go to check the VAR. The same happened in the play with Antoine (Griezmann).”
The play with Griezmann came five minutes later when the France forward appeared to be stepped on by Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori inside the area. The step on Griezmann's foot appeared to be clear, but the referee called an earlier foul by Atletico's Marc Pubill on Gabriel as both players went for the ball. Atletico did not think Pubill fouled Gabriel.
“There’s nothing to say. We are out and we need to congratulate Arsenal,” said Atletico coach Diego Simeone, who is Giuliano’s father. “We have to keep working. We won’t focus on a detail that can be seen and is very obvious.”
The coach downplayed the refereeing again in the post-match news conference, saying it was clear to them that the referee called an earlier foul on Gabriel before the foul on Griezmann happened.
Diego Simeone and Atletico's players applauded as the visiting fans sang in the stands after the match.
“I’m not going to talk about the referee, I’m sure he tried to do his best, just like it happened in the first match," Atletico midfielder Koke Resurrección said. "He’ll know how he should have refereed. I imagine that he tried his best.”
Both teams had complained of penalty calls not awarded in the first leg, when each side converted penalties in a 1-1 draw.
Azzoni reported from Madrid.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Join us for community fun at the San Mateo Senior Showcase at the San Mateo Senior Center lo… Read moreSan Mateo Senior Showcase
Our Lady of Angels school presents Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr! Read moreOur Lady of Angels School Presents Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Join us for an evening of piano artistry with Sofya Gulyak 🎹, presented by Gradus ad Parnas… Read moreSofya Gulyak piano recital
CA Is Burning said:
CA Is Burning said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.