Villarreal president Fernando Roig lamented the decision not to hand his side a penalty in their Champions League semi-final defeat to Liverpool.
The Spanish side were aiming to overturn a two-goal first-leg deficit and managed to level the tie by half-time. Their 2-0 lead could've been more however had Giovani Lo Celso been awarded a penalty after a clash with Alisson. The playmaker was scythed down by the Liverpool goalkeeper, but referee Danny Makkelie deemed that the Brazilian had got the ball.
That decision came at 1-0, before Francis Coquelin made it 2-0. Their efforts were in vain though as the quadruple chasers scored three second-half goals. It left Roig fuming and he took aim at the man in the middle after the La Liga side's Champions League journey came to an end.
He told Marca : "It was a scandalous penalty. The referee doesn't have the level to officiate this match. It seems to me a scandalous penalty for Lo Celso, I don't see any possible interpretation. The arbitration has been sibylline , it has always been in his favour. It doesn't serve as an excuse, because there they were superior and could win more, but this arbitration does not have level for a time like this. There have been a lot of small actions that have gone in their favour."
Roig also added: "There were three fouls on the edge of the box in the first half, the set piece is very important and we couldn't have it . Our forces were failing and it would have been good for us. I'm not hot, it's a pride to get here, but the arbitration has been very evil".
Makkelie refused to check the VAR monitor amid huge protests from the home players. Despite the anger from the Villarreal chief Unai Emery refused to blame the referee, instead praising their opponents whilst hailing his players for their efforts in making the last four.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Will Liverpool win the Champions League? Let us know in the comments
“When you have lost the moment is sad for everybody”, he told BBC Sport. “We can’t be happy because of the way we were doing good matches, good battles against Juventus, Bayern Munich and then some excellence against Liverpool. First half tonight we showed everybody we are a good team as well and we can have chances too, but the difference in two matches was with them.”
Villarreal had come through a group that included Manchester United before downing Juventus in Turin and Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. Emery led the Spanish side to the Europa League title last term and has underlined his credentials with an impressive run to the semi-finals.
