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Steve McManaman fumed at the \u201cawful behaviour\u201d of Diego Simeone during Arsenal\u2019s 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Viktor Gyokeres gave Arsenal the lead from the spot after he was bundled over in the box by D\u00e1vid Hancko, before Julian Alvarez also converted a penalty to level the tie following a Ben White handball.<\/p>\n
There was late controversy<\/strong> when referee Danny Makkelie overturned his decision to award Arsenal another penalty for a Hancko foul on Eberechi Eze after being asked to consult his pitch-side monitor.<\/p>\n READ MORE: VAR and its foundational lie exposed yet again as Arsenal pay penalty in Madrid<\/strong><\/p>\n And MacManaman fumed at VAR after the game before taking aim at Simeone.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are talking about VAR again,\u201d McManaman said on TNT Sports. \u201cI absolutely hate it \u2013 hate, hate, hate it. It spoils the game.<\/p>\n \u201cI look at the behaviour of Diego Simeone and his assistants when the referee was trying to come over to the monitor \u2013 it was atrocious. The constant haranguing of the fourth official.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce he gives it and there\u2019s contact, it\u2019s not a clear and obvious error, he shouldn\u2019t go back to re-ref it again. It baffles me but I thought he had an awful game.<\/p>\n \u201cIf that happened in the opposite box, Simeone would be going apoplectic for a penalty, and his behaviour is awful, honestly it\u2019s awful.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cWe could see what was going on and his behaviour and his No 2 was terrible, absolutely awful. That\u2019s why people don\u2019t like the dark arts and Atletico Madrid.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE: Gyokeres battles Simeone \u2018dark arts\u2019 to enjoy sliding doors moment in \u00a3130m Arsenal boost<\/strong><\/p>\n Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown was similarly frustrated by the refereeing and Simeone\u2019s impact on the officials from the touchline.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cI simply don\u2019t think it was clear and obvious. The referee should be able to referee the game. The VAR has got too involved. It is not what we wanted with VAR, it\u2019s not part of the protocol really.<\/p>\n \u201cSimeone though, his actions on the sidelines\u2026 the drama that he creates and the scenes around it\u2026 the referee in the end I thought buckled under the pressure, went to the screen and didn\u2019t stand by his decision. I don\u2019t think he should have even been made to go to the screen.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cYou need to keep your decorum after a game, and I don\u2019t want to go too far with it, but something was very wrong there tonight. He orchestrates the crowd here but he orchestrates the officials too. He creates a drama.\u201d<\/p>\n A clearly irritated Steven Gerrard then pulled Keown up over his double standards, insisting \u201cArteta does that as well\u201d.<\/p>\n Keown replied: \u201cNot with the same success of this man, he is a master.\u201d<\/p>\n READ NEXT: Simeone slaps and shoves Arsenal star in tunnel bust-up as Arteta \u2018incredibly fuming\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/div>\n