The place of Julian Alvarez was controversial excluded in the shoot -out defeat of Atletico Madrid against Real Madrid in the Champions League – but why was it not allowed and did the attacker even violate the rules?
Alvarez was second on the list of Penalty Takers of Atletico in their Champions League Last-16 Shoot-Out, after they really defeated city rivals 1-0 in the second stage to squad the 2-2 in total.
The Argentinian stepped up from 12 meters and, despite slipping, struck his penalty just below the bar past a helpless Thibault Courtois. More than a minute later, the kick was not allowed after a VAR check that ruled that he had touched the ball with both feet when he fell.
In IFABs 2024/25 laws of the game, the procedure of a penalty shoot-out is stated when describing the procedure: “[A penalty] Kick is completed when the ball stops moving, goes out of the game or the referee stops playing for each attack; The kicker may not play the ball a second time. “
In the end, that rule would be crucial in the shoot-out, while Real progressed 4-2 on spot kicks, where Marcos Llorente and Lucas Vazquez both miss fines for both sides.
At the moment that Alvarez's efforts were not allowed, Real's next Taker Federico Valverde had been waiting for some time for his own attempt when referee Szymon Marciniak, who was the man in the middle for the last victory of the Champions League, pointed to both of his own feet and feet was changed.
Large parts of the support in the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium did not seem to know that Alvarez's efforts had been deposited, while many of the broader viewing public were wondering whether it should not have been allowed at all.
Atletico Madrid -Baas Diego Simeone refused to criticize Marciniak and his team of civil servants, but wondered if there was convincing evidence that Alvarez had touched the ball twice -because a number of TV corners seemed to show that his standing leg might have made no contact with it.
“I just saw the image of the penalty,” he told his press conference after the game. “The referee said that when Julán stepped and kicked, he touched the ball with his foot, but the ball did not move. That is something to discuss whether it was a goal or not, but I am proud of my players.
“When he plants and kicks his foot, the ball does not even move a little bit. But if VAR called it, I have never seen a penalty that is called by VAR, but it is still valid, and they will have seen that he touched it. I want to have seen that he has touched it.”
He appealed directly to the chamber of journalists and then added: “What did you see? Do you hold your hand if you think Julian was right twice. I didn't speak to him.”
Initially there was no clear sign that Marciniak was told by his VAR about a continuous check, and after the game, real goalkeeper Courtois admitted that he had pointed out to the referee that he felt that Alvarez had committed the attack – which was possible what led to the check.
“I felt that he touched the ball twice and I told the referee,” he said. “It's not easy to see that. It was a bit of bad luck for them there.”
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