“If he was on my team, I would have said it’s a penalty” - Harry Kane makes huge admission on Bukayo Saka penalty claim for Arsenal vs Bayern
Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane has admitted that he would have appealed for a penalty over the Bukayo Saka incident with Manuel Neuer at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night (April 9). He believes that it was a 50-50 affair, and did not want to add more to it.
In the dying moments of the game, Saka fell to the ground after going over Neuer's legs. Despite Saka and his teammates asking for a penalty, the referee decided against giving it.
When quizzed by TV2Sport reporter Arilas Ould-Saada following the 2-2 draw in the Champions League quarter-final first leg, Kane stated that the penalty shout was a 50-50 decision and he understood why the referee opted against giving it.
However, the Bayern Munich star added that he would have asked for a penalty too, if it was his teammate on the receiving end.
"It's 50/50. If he was on my team, I would have said it's a penalty," Kane stated.
Thomas Tuchel took shots at the referee when quizzed about the penalty shout and claimed that he would not have been surprised if the decision went against them.
"Given the performance of the referee today, I would have not been surprised if he whistled for it," he said.
Mikel Arteta steered clear of the incident and stated that he had not seen it. He wanted to shift focus on his team not doing well when they had chances to win the game.
"I haven't seen it, the decision is made and we have to focus on other aspects that we can control, we could've done much better tonight," he explained.
Arsenal travel to Germany next week to face Bayern Munich in the second leg. The tie is evenly poised at 2-2 right now and could go to extra time if the clash at Allianz Arena remains level after normal time.
Bayern Munich star Harry Kane takes cheeky dig at Arsenal fans
Arsenal fans were booing Harry Kane throughout the match because of his connection with Tottenham Hotspur. Kane, who was quizzed about it after the match, claimed that it was a sign of soft respect from the Gooners.
"I think they have a soft respect for me! I know there wasn't just Bayern Munich fans watching this game tonight so it was maybe a little bit more pressure but it's always a tough game. Arsenal has always been a tough game," he faced.
Harry Kane has faced Arsenal 20 times in his career, scoring 15 goals. He has won seven times and lost as many while drawing the other six.