March 14 – UEFA is to consider a potential rule change after the highly contentious penalty incident that cruelly saw Atletico Madrid knocked out of the Champions League this week by holders and arch rivals Real.
Atletico forward Julian Alvarez’s spot kick in the shootout at the end of extra time was controversially disallowed when he inadvertently touched the ball twice after slipping.
Real won the shootout 4-2 after a 2-2 draw on aggregate to qualify for the quarter-finals.
With Atletico down 2-1 in the shootout Álvarez touched the ball twice – although barely – while taking his kick and scoring. His left foot slipped before he shot with his right foot.
The referee did not initially see the double touch and allowed the goal to stand. But the Argentina international was deemed by VAR to have touched the ball with his standing foot as he slipped before striking to score.
“Although minimal, the player made contact with the ball using his standing foot before kicking it,” UEFA said in a statement. “Under the current rule, the VAR had to call the referee signalling that the goal should be disallowed.”
However, European football’s governing body said it would hold talks with the sport’s lawmakers regarding the rule on double touches.
“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,” it added.
To suggest Real got lucky is an understatement and a fuming Atletico coach Diego Simeone asked members of the media during his post-match press conference to raise their hand if they had seen a replay that showed Alvarez had touched the ball twice.
“Raise your hand, anyone who saw Julian touch it twice, who is going to raise their hand? Nobody has raised their hand,” shouted Simeone.
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