Refereeing controversy in the Champions League: Julián Álvarez's disallowed penalty
Atlético de Madrid’s elimination in the Champions League round of 16 against Real Madrid was not without controversy, especially regarding the annulment of a penalty scored by Julián Álvarez during the decisive shootout.
Referee Szymon Marciniak, at the behest of VAR, invalidated the goal, arguing that the Argentine striker touched the ball with both feet when slipping, which is prohibited by the regulations. Despite the initial outrage, most refereeing experts agree on the correctness of the decision.
Iturralde González, for example, pointed out that the VAR room must have had a clear view of the double touch to make that determination. Other analysts, such as Uxío Caamaño and Pavel Fernández, supported the annulment, reaffirming that the regulations consider the penalty as missed in this situation.
However, the controversy did not end there. Figures like Xavier Estrada Fernández questioned the existence of definitive images proving the double touch, while Mateu Lahoz lamented the lack of transparency in the communication of VAR decisions.
Lahoz expressed that, given such a quick decision, he himself would have preferred to review the images on the monitor to make a decision with total conviction, adding that he would like everyone to be able to see the images that the referee has at his disposal. Despite the debate generated, the refereeing decision was decisive in the course of the match, leaving Atlético de Madrid out of the European competition.
