Ex-Barcelona Winger Amuneke Dismisses Arsenal Midfielder Iwobi Claims To Be Awarded A Penalty

Former Barcelona winger Emmanuel Amuneke has declared that Russian referee Sergei Karasev was right not to award a penalty against the Azulgranas after Arsenal attacking midfielder Alex Iwobi fell in the 18-yard box in the first half during the Champions League tie between the two teams on Wednesday.

One of the major talking points immediately after the incident in the 35th minute was whether or not the match official should have pointed to the spot, with Iwobi claiming that he was tripped by Argentina international Javier Mascherano.

“Is it a penalty? It wasn’t a penalty. We should not be sentimental, we should be bold enough to say the truth, ” said Emmanuel Amuneke to allnigeriasoccer.com.

“Iwobi is a good player. Arsenal tried their best but they were playing against a strong team, they can score you at any time.

 “They put up a good fight, unfortunately Barcelona were better.”

Emmanuel Amuneke, one of the Super Eagles assistant coaches, will start running the rule over Alex Iwobi early next week when he links up with the Nigeria squad in Kaduna ahead of their AFCON qualifiers against Egypt.

The 19-year-old Iwobi has two caps for the Super Eagles having made his international debut against Democratic Republic of Congo in a friendly held in Belgium last October.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel