Wenger criticizes Marciniak for Cubarsí's penalty on Lautaro: "VAR is not for this in football"

Szymon Marciniak was one of the main protagonists of the match between Inter Milan and FC Barcelona, valid for the end of the 'semis' of the UEFA Champions League 2024-25. However, the Polish referee did not stand out precisely for a correct and clean action, but for a series of controversial decisions that, for the most part, ended up harming the Blaugrana team.

The match between Barcelona and 'nerazzurri' left at least five questionable plays in which the referee's decision was decisive, generating endless opinions on the criteria applied by Marciniak. Both the coach of FC Barcelona and several of his players, and even voices outside the club, but linked to the world of football, have been allowed to question these decisions and publicly express their disagreement.

Arsène Wenger's criticism: "This is not football"

One of the most prominent criticisms came from Arsène Wenger, historic former coach of Arsenal and current director of world football development at FIFA. The Frenchman did not hesitate to directly point out the decisions taken by the refereeing team led by Marciniak, which included Pol van Boekel and Denis Higler in the VAR room.

"You can't referee in slow motion. VAR is not for this in football and it can't continue like this", expressed Wenger, referring to the penalty sanctioned on Pau Cubarsí after an action with Lautaro Martínez.

In turn, 'Le Professeur' delved into his analysis of the play, assuring that the review in the VAR distorted what really happened: "At normal speed it is a great tackle. The defender wins the action and it's all over. Then what happens when they put the images in slow motion happens, but this is not football", he emphasized.

Likewise, he explained the background of the action from a technical perspective: "Look at what Lautaro Martínez is doing. He knows that he is not going to score in this play and he leans more and more towards Cubarsí. He is clearly looking for the penalty and for me, the referee has not made the correct decision", he replied.

"Clearly it is not a penalty"

The former French coach was blunt in his conclusion: "Let people look at who is the first to play the ball. The first to reach the ball. It is Cubarsí and the rest is done by Lautaro. For me, it is clearly not a penalty and you cannot whistle an action like that, which live already seemed clear to me that there was no foul", he sentenced.

"For me, it is clearly not a penalty and you cannot whistle an action like that, which live already seemed clear to me that there was no foul"

This action continues to generate debate in the international sports scene, being analyzed and questioned by players, former coaches and experts. All sectors of football seem to be gradually uniting in a common cry: the decisions of Szymon Marciniak in this Champions League duel left much to be desired.