Antonio Rudiger appeared to stamp on Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly in the second half (Picture: TNT Sports)
Arsenal fans were mystified that Antonio Rudiger managed to remain on the pitch after appearing to ‘stamp’ on Myles Lewis-Skelly during the side’s 2-1 (5-1 agg) victory over Real Madrid to reach the Champions League semi-finals.
Trailing 3-0 from the quarter-final first leg, Madrid, the holders, had an almighty let off early on as Thibaut Courtois denied Bukayo Saka’s weakly struck Panenka to keep the scoreline goalless in the 13th minute.
The roof came off the Bernabeu as Los Blancos were awarded a penalty of their own at the end of an absorbing first half, but the decision was eventually overturned following a lengthy VAR check.
Saka redeemed himself after his earlier miss with an exquisite 65th-minute dink over Courtois to silence the Madrid crowd and extend the visitors’ advantage, only for Vinicius Junior to hit back with an immediate response.
But the Gunners held firm and increased the deficit in stoppage time through Gabriel Martinelli, who beat Courtois with a composed finish to put the icing on the cake on a famous night for Mikel Arteta’s men.
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The north Londoners will do battle in the semi-finals with French champions Paris Saint-Germain, who survived a huge scare against Aston Villa to reach the last four on Tuesday evening.
Just before the flurry of goalmouth action in the second half, there was a moment which many Arsenal supporters were adamant was overlooked, as Rudiger trod on Lewis-Skelly’s crotch area with his left boot.
Some Arsenal supporters were confident Rudiger’s ‘stamp’ was intentional (Picture: TNT Sports)
Referee Francois Letexier initially allowed play to continue before eventually blowing up, with the Arsenal youngster pictured rolling around on the turf in agony.
‘No foul on Lewis-Skelly and Rudiger might well have trodden on him there,’ TNT Sports commentator Darren Fletcher said.
‘That’s why he’s in pain, the youngster. Now the referee is going to stop it.’
Saka opened the scoring shortly after the Rudiger incident (Picture: Getty)
Many Arsenal fans were adamant Rudiger should have been sent off (Picture: Getty)
Watching back replays of the incident, co-commentator Ally McCoist chimed in: ‘Oh! Now, I’m not sure.
‘I’m just not sure how much pressure he puts on him.
‘But he certainly stands on him.’
Martinelli put Arsenal well and truly out of sight in added time (Picture: Getty)
Slow-motion replays showed Rudiger’s studs clearly make firm contact with Lewis-Skelly just below the stomach, but the former Chelsea centre-back went unpunished – which left many Arsenal supporters apoplectic.
‘Clearest red card you will ever see by Rudiger. This referee is appalling,’ @1886_blog wrote on X.
‘Leader Rudiger stamping an 18 year old. Class,’ @theEpicGooner tweeted.
X user @terryflewers said: ‘Rudiger meant that 100 per cent, that’s a stamp on MLS.’
Meanwhile, @prince_chas_cca wrote: ‘How Rudiger didn’t get a card for his stamp on MLS is beyond me.’
There was more controversy at the half-time break as Saka clashed with injured Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal while the two teams made their way towards the tunnel.
Footage showed the duo exchange a few choice words before Carvajal grabbed Saka by the neck from behind.
The Arsenal forward responded by shoving the Spain defender away and the pair had to be pulled apart, with Ben White at the centre of the heated fracas.
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