Atletico Madrid were controversially eliminated from the Champions League by fierce rivals Real Madrid after Julian Alvarez’s penalty was chalked off and the ex-Man City star has finally spoken out
Julian Alvarez has appealed for ‘clearer’ rules following Atletico Madrid’s controversial elimination from the Champions League. The Spanish giants were ousted by their fierce rivals Real Madrid at the Round of 16 stage earlier this month on penalties.
But it happened in contentious circumstances as Alvarez’s penalty was chalked off via a VAR review for an alleged double touch. Despite the controversy, the Argentine forward chose not to speak out on the drama.
But Alvarez has now broken his silence, claiming that the offence was only minimal, while also appealing for a change in the rules. He said: “I have watched it 1,000 times, there are videos everywhere.
“The truth is that I don’t feel the touch, because if there were two touches, the contact is minimal and it is very difficult to perceive it.
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“I think the rule has to be a little clearer because I don’t try to take any advantage and if the goalkeeper is off his line when he makes a save, the penalty is repeated. This is not to take any advantage. It’s a shame what happened.”
While Alvarez was diplomatic in his assessment of the incident, Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone took a slightly different stance. Speaking in his post match press conference, he pulled no punches with his assessment. He said: “Did you guys see it? Did you see it? Did he or didn’t he touch the ball? Don’t be afraid to speak. Are you afraid because you’re going to be punished?
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“If you’re afraid, don’t say anything. Raise your hand if you think Julian knocked twice. No one? No one. Okay. Honestly, I won’t lie to you, being eliminated the way we’ve been is not an easy thing to accept.” He added: “I just saw the image of the penalty. 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.”
Elsewhere, UEFA have also spoken out on the decision to chalk off Alvarez’s penalty. They confirmed talks had been opened with those who set the rules of the game to discuss potentially altering the law. A statement read: “Atlético de Madrid enquired with UEFA over the incident, which led to the disallowance of the kick from the penalty mark taken by Julián Alvarez at the end of yesterday’s UEFA Champions League match against Real Madrid.
“Although minimal, the player made contact with the ball using his standing foot before kicking it, as shown in the attached video clip. 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.”
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