Schalke equalise against Man City thanks to controversial VAR penalty

Manchester City looked to be in control of their Champions League tie against Schalke thanks to a first half goal from Sergio Aguero, but Schalke got a goal back through a penalty kick.

However, it wasn’t without controversy, as the referee took a long amount of time to check VAR over the decision.

Between the amount of time the ball struck Nicolas Otamendi’s hand in the box and the penalty being scored, four minutes and 26 seconds elapsed.

The ball strikes Nicolas Otamendi’s hand in the box, but the penalty was not originally given

There were a lot of protests from both sides while the referee sent the decision to the VAR

Eventually, over four minutes after the incident happened, Schalke scored the penalty kick

The decision itself took two minutes and 43 seconds to make, as the referee brought over both captains to try and stop both teams protesting to the officials.

The drama continued as it was still over a minute until the goal was scored after the decision was given. 

Nabil Bentaleb was the man to step up and put the pressure of the time delay behind him, and he managed to score, leveling the match at 1-1. 

Otamendi was given a yellow card for the handball, setting up yet more protests. 

The referee had to bring both captains over to get their players to stop with their complaining

Even after the penalty was given, it was still over a minute until Nabil Bentaleb scored it

Misery kept piling up on top of Pep Guardiola and City, as they were behind just a few minutes later to yet another penalty kick, after Fernandinho committed a foul in the box. 

The Champions League has only implemented the VAR system for the last 16 phase, so it’s still early days for the technology in the competition. 

Former referee Peter Walton was questioned at half time on BT Sport about whether the decision was correct and why it took so long.

‘Yes it’s the right decision,’ he said. ‘The ball was coming at a distance, Otamendi has had every opportunity to pull his arm out the way.  

‘If you notice, he actually makes a fist, so he’s making his arm strong in the anticipation the ball’s going to strike it. At the very last moment he decides “hey I’m going to pull my arm out the way here” and it’s hit his arm.’

However, the pundits in the studio didn’t agree with his view of the situation.

‘I don’t agree,’ said Rio Ferdinand. ‘He’s so close it’s difficult to get your arm completely out the way. His motion is going backwards away from the ball. I find it hard to give that penalty.’ 

More to follow.