- Julian Alvarez slipped when he took his penalty and touched the ball twice
- His goal was ruled out by VAR, and UEFA have now responded to the controversy
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! With the Premier League likely securing five Champions League spots, are we rewarding mediocrity?
UEFA will launch talks with FIFA and IFAB to determine whether the double touch law on penalties should be changed after Atletico Madrid’s controversial Champions League shootout exit to Real Madrid.
Julian Alvarez slipped while taking his spot-kick on Wednesday night, with VAR quickly deciding that he touched the ball twice in doing so.
While Atletico thought they had scored initially, the refereeing team disallowed it, much to the confusion of some supporters inside the Metropolitano Stadium who were unaware.
Atletico felt aggrieved by the decision as they lost the shootout 4-2, with manager Diego Simeone passionately using his press conference afterwards to ask for a show of hands from reporters as to whether they thought Alvarez performed a double touch.
In a statement released by UEFA less than 24 hours after the incident, complete with a video clip they said proved there was a double touch, European football’s governing body said: ‘Atletico 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.
Julian Alvarez slipped before scoring his penalty in the shootout against Real Madrid
He thought the goal had counted, but after consulting with VAR, the referee disallowed the goal due to Alvarez touching the ball twice
UEFA will now hold talks with football chiefs over changing the rule after Atletico were knocked out on penalties by their local rivals
‘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.’
Viewers have pointed out that it is overly harsh on the taker to have his strike disallowed for a slip, whereas goalkeepers who step off their line can face retakes.
