Julian Alvarez’s penalty: Why was Atletico Madrid’s spot kick ruled out in their shoot-out loss to Real Madrid?
Why was Julian Alvarez’s penalty disallowed in Atletico Madrid’s shoot-out defeat to Real Madrid after a long delay? Did the Argentine forward double-touch his spot kick?
Julian Alvarez’s penalty in Atletico Madrid’s shoot-out loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League was controversially ruled out, but why was it disallowed, and did the forward actually break the rules?
Alvarez, second in line to take a penalty for Atletico in their Champions League last-16 shoot-out, had just helped secure a 1-0 win over their city rivals in the second leg, leveling the tie 2-2 on aggregate. The Argentine forward stepped up confidently, slipping slightly but still firing a powerful shot under the crossbar, past a helpless Thibault Courtois.
However, the goal was disallowed following a VAR review, which determined that Alvarez had touched the ball with both feet as he fell. From the referee’s whistle to the disallowed goal took a full minute and eight seconds.
According to the IFAB’s 2024/25 Laws of the Game, a penalty kick is considered complete only when the ball stops moving, goes out of play, or the referee halts play for any offense. The kicker is not allowed to play the ball a second time. This rule ultimately played a significant role in Real Madrid progressing 4-2 on penalties, with both Marcos Llorente and Lucas Vazquez also missing from the spot.
At the time Alvarez’s penalty was disallowed, Real’s next taker, Federico Valverde, had already been waiting for his attempt. Referee Szymon Marciniak, who had officiated Manchester City’s Champions League final victory over Inter in 2023, signaled the disallowed goal by pointing to his feet and crossing his arms.
Many fans inside the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium appeared unaware of the disallowed goal, and several viewers at home questioned whether the penalty should have been ruled out at all.
Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone refrained from criticizing Marciniak and his officials, but he did express doubts over whether there was enough conclusive evidence that Alvarez had touched the ball twice. Some TV angles suggested his standing leg may not have made contact with the ball at all.
“I just saw the image of the penalty,” Simeone said in his post-match press conference. “The referee said that when Julián stepped and kicked, he touched the ball with his foot, but the ball didn’t move. That’s something to discuss about whether it was a goal or not, but I’m proud of my players. When he plants his foot and kicks, the ball doesn’t move at all. But if VAR called it, I’ve never seen a penalty called by VAR, but it’s still valid, and they must have seen that he touched it. I want to believe they saw that he touched it.”
Simeone then turned to the journalists, asking, “What did you see? Raise your hand if you think Julian knocked it twice. I didn’t speak to him.”
Initially, there was no clear indication that Marciniak had been alerted to a VAR check, but after the game, Real Madrid goalkeeper Courtois revealed that he had pointed out to the referee that he believed Alvarez had committed the offense, which may have prompted the review.
“I felt that he touched the ball twice and I told the referee,” Courtois said. “It’s not easy to see that. It was a bit of bad luck for them.”
Other players, including Jude Bellingham, signaled that they thought Alvarez had touched the ball twice, while Lucas Vazquez also indicated that he believed the penalty would be disallowed during the VAR check.
Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric said: “I haven’t seen it, but if he’s touched the ball twice, well, that’s the rules. It’s unfortunate for him. This is football. If he has, it’s normal to disallow it.”
