We looked on course to finish 2017 with back-to-back away league wins, before West Bromwich Albion were awarded - and converted - an 88th-minute penalty on Sunday afternoon.
After the match, Petr Cech gave his opinion on the game’s controversial moment. Here’s what he said:
on Cech getting annoyed at the goal…
Every time we have a meeting with the referees prior to the season and it comes to this point where the player is too close to the ball and he has no chance to react. He has his hands by his side and it can never be a penalty. The referee gives this with two minutes to go and I asked him why he changed his opinion to give a penalty, when every time we have this meeting, it’s clear that they say this is not a penalty. I got booked as well and I think that’s the most disappointing, because he could have told me ‘come later’, but he just gave me a yellow card. I was not rude, I just asked the question and I think this disappoints me even more.
on if Cech can see why the penalty was awarded…
No.
on what Dean said when asked why he awarded it…
Nothing.
on if he’s ever been this angry after a decision…
I’m just disappointed because of the penalty situation. I expect, when I walk towards the referee with respect and ask him a question, I would like him to answer me in a normal way and not give me a yellow card and say nothing.
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
