Mikel Arteta breaks silence on Gabriel ‘handball’ as Arsenal boss claims ref DID follow rules on ‘scandalous’ decision

MIKEL ARTETA has praised the referee for using “common sense” by not issuing a handball penalty in the 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich.

Gabriel caused a stir after picking the ball up from a short David Raya goal-kick before restarting play during the Emirates clash on Tuesday night.

GettyMikel Arteta has praised the referee for using “common sense” for not giving a penalty against Gabriel in the 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich[/caption]

The Arsenal defender picked up the ball from a short David Raya goal-kick before restarting play

Arsenal based on the word of the law should have conceded a second penalty against Bayern Munich after the referee “admitted” to seeing a clear handball in the box.

And while Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel was left frustrated after claiming that whistler Glenn Nyberg admitted to seeing the bizarre incident.

Arteta hailed the Nyberg for making the right decision.

He said: “I did notice the Gabriel handball story, especially after where there was a certain reaction from Bayern…”.

“The referees used the law and the law says to use common sense and whether you take an advantage from that situation which there isn’t any advantage”.

According to the International Football Association Board (IFAB): “Referees are expected to use common sense and to apply the ‘spirit of the game’ when applying the Laws of the Game.”

This use of common sense is commonly referred to as ‘Law 18’ in IFAB’s Laws of the Game, which does not actually include a Law 18.

After the game, Tuchel told TNT Sports: “The referee did not have the courage today to give us a deserved penalty, in a bit of a crazy and awkward situation.

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“He admitted on the pitch that he saw the situation and that in a quarter-final it’s not enough for him to give a penalty for a kids’ mistake.

“So he admitted that he knows about the mistake the player made. That is a bit frustrating.”

In his post-match press conference, Tuchel, 50, later added: “I felt a lot of little decisions go against us… and a huge mistake in not giving us a penalty.

“What makes us really angry is the explanation on the pitch. He said it’s a kid’s mistake and isn’t giving a penalty for that.”

Arsenal will have to pull it back and win at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night to secure a spot in the semi-finals.