UEFA will start discussions with FIFA and IFAB to review whether penalties scored should stand when double touches are unintentional.
The talks come after Julian Alvarez’s spot kick was controversially ruled out in Atletico Madrid’s 4-2 Champions League shoot-out defeat to Real Madrid on Wednesday.
Despite slipping, the Argentina forward managed to score his penalty, but the VAR ruled out the goal because Alvarez was deemed to have touched the ball with both feet. Real Madrid then went on to clinch the last-16 tie and set up a quarter-final with Arsenal.
UEFA later released video footage of the incident showing there had been contact – albeit minimal – from Alvarez’s left foot with the ball before his right foot struck the shot.
From the referee’s whistle to take the penalty to it being disallowed took one minute and eight seconds.
Sky Sports takes a closer look at why Julian Alvarez’s penalty against Real Madrid was disallowed and asks ‘Did he kick it twice’? We ask you to decide
UEFA have said in a statement they will begin working on the possibility of a potential rule change because of the incident. They also revealed Atletico Madrid had raised the situation with them.
UEFA 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 [Wednesday’s] UEFA Champions League match against Real Madrid.
“Although minimal, the player made contact with the ball using his standing foot before kicking it. 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.”
Kaveh Solhekol explains that UEFA are keen to review the penalty law with FIFA and IFAB after the controversy surrounding Julian Alvarez’s double-touch spot kick against Real Madrid
Julian Alvarez was deemed to have hit the ball twice when taking his penalty in the shootout against Real Madrid
Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez falls to the ground after taking a penalty kick during a shootout at the end of the Champions League round of 16, second leg, soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid
The key rule on double-touches from penalties
The rule referenced in UEFA’s statement and applied on Wednesday, states: “[A penalty] kick is completed when the ball stops moving, goes out of play or the referee stops play for any offence; the kicker may not play the ball a second time.”
In the end, that rule would prove crucial in the shoot-out as Real progressed 4-2 on spot kicks, with Marcos Llorente and Lucas Vazquez both also missing penalties for either side.
At the time Alvarez’s effort was disallowed, Real’s next taker Federico Valverde had been waiting for his own attempt when referee Szymon Marciniak, pointed to both of his own feet and crossed his arms to signal that the previous goal had been disallowed.
Large sections of the support inside the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium appeared unaware that Alvarez’s effort had been chalked off, while many of the wider viewing public questioned whether it should have been disallowed at all.
Simeone: Raise your hand if you think Julian knocked it twice!
In his post-match press conference, Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone questioned the controversial decision to rule out Julian Alvarez’s penalty
Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone refused to criticised Marciniak and his team of officials but did question whether there was conclusive proof Alvarez had touched the ball twice – as a number of TV angles appeared to show his standing leg may not have made contact with it at all.
“I just saw the image of the penalty,” he told his post-match press conference. “The referee said that when Julian 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 even a little bit. But if VAR called it, I’ve never seen a penalty called by VAR, but it’s still valid, and they’ll have seen that he touched it. I want to believe they’ll have seen that he touched it.”
Addressing the room of journalists directly, he then added: “What did you see? Raise your hand if you think Julian knocked twice. I didn’t speak to him.”
Real Madrid players celebrate after winning the penalty shootout during the Champions League round of 16 against Atletico Madrid
Real stars: Those are the rules!
After the game Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois claimed he had pointed out to the referee that he felt Alvarez had committed the offence – which may have been 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.”
The players lined up in the centre circle also remonstrated with the assistant referee standing with them, with Jude Bellingham holding up two fingers to signal that he believed Alvarez had touched the ball twice. Lucas Vasquez also signalled that he thought it would be ruled out during the 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.”
