UCL: ‘It wasn’t true’ – Slavia Prague counter referee over Arsenal’s penalty in 3-0 defeat

Slavia Prague captain, Lukas Provod has suggested that the referee lied to him concerning the penalty that led to Arsenal’s first goal scored by Saka in the first half of their defeat to the Gunners.

He also lamented the tactics displayed by Arsenal during the north London side’s 3-0 win in the Champions League on Tuesday evening.

One goal from Bukayo Saka and two from Mikel Merino ensured that Arsenal made it four wins from four games in the Champions League.

Arsenal also equalled a club record on clean sheet, eight, set in 1903.

After the game, Provod complained bitterly over what he described as time-wasting antics by the Gunners, especially in the second half.

“Arsenal prepare for set-pieces for a long time, we knew that,” Provod told reporters after the game

“I was in charge of[marking] Gabriel, which is a tough one, so I was 100 per cent focused on defending him.

“The ball went from his head to my head and then into my hand. I prayed that VAR wouldn’t rule it out, which rarely happens.

“I don’t know exactly what the rule is when the ball goes from my head to my hand. Unfortunately, it was a penalty.

“In the first situation, he [the referee] told me that it went from Gabriel’s head to my hand. Which wasn’t true.”

Also speaking, Slavia manager, Jindrich Trpisovsky, told reporters, “The referee told us that it was a hand above the head, Provi said that he first hit the ball with his head and it went into his hand, which would have been a violation, but this does not apply when the hand is above the shoulder.”