UEFA has issued a statement addressing the controversy surrounding Julian Alvarez’s disallowed penalty during Atletico Madrid’s penalty shootout loss to rivals Real Madrid, after VAR ruled he made double contact with the ball.
On Wednesday night, Atletico manager Diego Simeone expressed outrage after Alvarez’s successful penalty, initially counted, was overturned following a VAR review.
The decision left the forward perplexed, as he later remarked to teammates, “It could be. I don’t know, but it could be.” ..Continue Reading
The incident occurred when Alvarez slipped while taking his shot, with VAR concluding that his left boot accidentally made contact with the ball before his right foot struck it into the net, thus violating the rules.
This ruling contributed to Atletico’s exit after 120 minutes of intense action against Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid.
Rules analyst Christina Unkel shared her insights on the matter, explaining that the decision wasn’t based solely on multiple camera angles but leveraged technology like VAR’s 26-camera system to monitor both player movements and ball contact.
As Atletico considers appealing the call, UEFA has released additional evidence to clarify the referee’s ruling.
The footage shows Alvarez’s left boot slipping into the ball at the moment of contact, altering its trajectory before his right foot completed the kick, despite beating Thibaut Courtois with ease.
UEFA also released a statement: “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.”
“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,” the statement continued.
UEFA has announced that it plans to engage in discussions with FIFA and IFAB, two of football’s primary rule-making bodies, regarding a possible rule amendment for cases where a double touch is deemed “clearly unintentional.”
These discussions will explore whether the current rule should be revised to allow more leniency in such scenarios.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid is preparing for a quarter-final clash with Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal in the Champions League, but it remains uncertain if Diego Simeone and Atletico Madrid will pursue an appeal over the controversial decision—or if they would succeed in doing so.
