The Controversial Penalty: Injustice or Correct Decision on Julián Álvarez's Disallowed Goal?

In the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 between Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid, an unprecedented situation occurred. The Merengues secured their ticket to the quarterfinals after defeating the Colchoneros in a completely unusual and surreal penalty shootout, where a VAR intervention resulted in a disallowed goal for Julián Álvarez and tilted the victory in favor of the whites.

The Argentine was the second player from the rojiblancos to shoot from the penalty spot. At the moment of kicking, the forward slipped, but his shot managed to find its way into the net of Thibaut Courtois. Immediately, the Belgian goalkeeper alerted the referee, Szymon Marciniak, about an irregular situation, and the Polish official decided to halt the penalty shootout.

The Real Madrid goalkeeper warned that, upon slipping, Álvarez touched the ball with both feet just at the moment of the shot, a situation that VAR confirmed after a couple of minutes of review, leading the referee to disallow the goal from the Córdoba native. According to the regulations, there cannot be a "double touch" by a player when striking the ball from the penalty spot, but this alleged "double touch" is not clearly visible in any of the replays provided by the media.

A decision that sparked controversy, since, in the event that the 'Araña' did touch the ball twice while slipping, it remains unheard of and surprising that the VAR intervenes in a penalty shootout to disallow a goal and directly influence a Champions League knockout round. Even more strange is the fact that they did it to favor Madrid, so the referee's determination will surely have repercussions.

Simeone Explodes Against the Referee's Decision

As expected, the controversial decision by the referee was heavily questioned by Atlético de Madrid. In the press conference following the match, 'Cholo' Simeone stated that "the referee says that when Julián steps and kicks, he touches the ball with the support of his foot, but the ball does not move. That serves to discuss whether it was a goal or not".

"I have never seen a penalty that VAR calls"

"When he supports his foot and kicks, the ball does not move even a little. But if VAR called it, I have never seen a penalty that VAR calls, but it is also valid, and they must have seen that he touched it. I want to believe that they saw that he touched it," the coach added. "Did anyone here see that Julián touched the ball twice? Raise your hand. Who raises their hand? No one raises their hand,” he concluded emphatically, making his displeasure evident.

Finally, according to the Argentine media 'TNT Sports', Julián reportedly commented on the controversy with his teammates after the call. "I don't know, maybe, but I don't know," were said to be the words of the 'Araña', who is at the center of what has already gone down in history as one of the most dubious and controversial decisions in the Champions League.