Why Julian Alvarez's penalty was ruled out against Real Madrid | OneFootball

The range of emotions which surged through Julian Alvarez in a matter of moments must have been dizzying.

As the Atletico Madrid forward's left foot gave way while he was lining up to take the fourth penalty in Wednesday's shootout against Real Madrid, a wave of panic briefly washed across his face. That was swiftly replaced with relief when he saw the ball crash into the roof of Thibaut Courtois' net, levelling the score once again in the Champions League round of 16 tie.

A fog of confusion soon descended upon the entire Metropolitano. Eventually it became clear - to those outside the stadium at least - that VAR had identified a double touch during Alvarez's penalty which was subsequently ruled out. Real Madrid ultimately prevailed, consigning Alvarez to a final state of deflation.

Why was Julian Alvarez's penalty was ruled out against Real Madrid?

Simply put, Alvarez touched the ball twice, accidentally kicking it with his right foot onto his standing left foot.

According to Law 14 in the rules of the game: "If, after the penalty kick has been taken, the kicker touches the ball again before it has touched another player an indirect free kick (or direct free kick for a handball offence) is awarded."

As the offence took place during a penalty shootout, the series of spot kicks continued rather than the award of a free kick.

Spotting the double touch was a bit more complicated.

How VAR ruled out Julian Alvarez's penalty

Szymon Marciniak was the man in the middle for the Champions League Madrid derby / Angel Martinez/GettyImages

Despite theories to the contrary, there is no chip in the Champions League ball to assist with the semi-automated offside technology - such as the system used at Euro 2024. On-pitch referee Szymon Marciniak did not spot the offence in real time but was assisted by his VAR Tomasz Kwiatkowski.

UEFA have not released an official statement, but the Independent's Miguel Delaney claimed that the organising body for European football had offered some clarity: "UEFA saying it is just VAR - so using replays - to confirm double-touch on a penalty," he reported. "No sensors used, or other tech."

Reaction to Julian Alvarez's disallowed penalty

Diego Simeone was not impressed / Soccrates Images/GettyImages

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois saw something which the rest of the 69,000 people stuffed into the Metropolitano on Wednesday night missed. "I felt like it was a double [touch] and I told the referee," the Belgian shot-stopper, who infamously represented Atletico for three years. "It's not easy to see, and it's bad luck for them."

The protagonist of this controversy, Alvarez himself, wasn't so convinced. "I didn't feel like I touched the ball," he told his teammates in the dressing room after elimination, as quoted by MARCA.

Atletico manager Diego Simeone was even more forceful. "Did you see the penalty?" the Argentine coach asked his post-match press conference. "Raise your hand if you've seen Julian kick the ball twice." No one raised their hand.

Simeone's Real Madrid counterpart Carlo Ancelotti unsurprisingly took a different view. "VAR had already detected it when we realised it," the Italian explained. "I didn't realise this, but then I saw it and it seems to me that Julian Alvarez took the second touch with his left foot."

Real Madrid have repeatedly found themselves on the wrong end of refereeing controversies this season - at least in the club's opinion - creating a stigma against officials which has turned increasingly toxic.

Courtois had clearly had enough of the debate. "I'm always fed up with that victimhood, always crying about things like this," he huffed after the match. "Referees don't want to benefit a team, neither in Spain nor in Europe. They saw it clearly and called it that way. They're human, and with technology, they saw it clearly. If you're winning 1-0 in the first minute and don't go for the second, that's the mistake of their game."