Atletico Madrid was knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid in a penalty shootout following a 2-2 aggregate draw in their round of 16 matchup.
Antonio Rudiger secured the decisive penalty in Real’s 4-2 shootout victory, but the key moment involved a contentious penalty attempt by Julian Alvarez. ..Continue Reading
The former Manchester City striker, known for his penalty skills, slipped while taking his shot, driving the ball into the roof of the net.
However, a VAR review revealed that Alvarez had unintentionally made contact with the ball using both feet, violating the rules.
Consequently, the goal was disallowed, and the attempt was recorded as a miss under Law 14.1 of the Laws of the Game.
Real Madrid players, including Kylian Mbappe, noticed the accidental double touch and raised the issue with the officials.
Despite speculation that advanced cameras and sensors detected the infringement, journalist Miguel Delaney clarified that the decision came solely from VAR officials.
Referee Szymon Marciniak has since commented on the incident, dismissing claims that Mbappe influenced the call and affirming that he independently observed the double contact himself.
“This is completely untrue. I was the one who informed the VAR referees that there was a 99% chance that Alvarez touched the ball twice, and they checked it thoroughly,” he said in a statement to Win Win, as per AS.
“It is absolutely false that Mbappé told me anything about the two touches.”
Marcinak, who officiated the 2022 World Cup final, added: “To be honest, I have never faced a situation like this in my refereeing career, but the players know the rules.”
While the rules were enforced accurately, the decision sparked widespread outrage. After communication with Atletico Madrid and a notable response from Diego Simeone, UEFA released a statement confirming plans to engage with relevant authorities to discuss whether the rule should be revised in cases of unintentional double touches.
“Atletico de Madrid enquired with UEFA over the incident, which led to the disallowance of the kick from the penalty mark taken by Julian Alvarez at the end of yesterday’s UEFA Champions League match against Real Madrid,” a statement read.
“Although minimal, the player made contact with the ball using his standing foot before kicking it, as shown in the attached video clip. Under the current rule (Laws of the Game, Law 14.1), the VAR had to call the referee signalling that the goal should be disallowed.
“UEFA will enter discussions with FIFA and IFAB to determine whether the rule should be reviewed in cases where a double touch is clearly unintentional.”
UEFA also shared slow-mo, close-up footage of the second touch Alvarez made with his penalty.
After the victory, Real will take on Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals.
