UEFA releases statement regarding Julian Alvarez's disallowed penalty in Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid UCL tie

UEFA has released a statement regarding Julian Alvarez's disallowed penalty in the Champions League Round-of-16 second-leg clash between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid on Wednesday (March 12). The Argentine forward saw his spot-kick during the shootout chalked off for a double touch.

Alvarez's goal was disallowed after the VAR team adjudged that he had touched the ball with his standing left foot before taking a shot with his right foot. The decision has sparked mixed reactions from fans and pundits alike.

UEFA has now issued a statement addressing the penalty saga. The football governing body stated that the referee was forced to disallow the goal in line with the laws of the game as Alvarez made minimal contact with the ball before his shot.

They, however, added that they will enter discussions with FIFA and IFAB for a review of the law for unintentional double touch cases. The statement reads (as quoted by Fabrizio Romano on X):

“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.”

Real Madrid overcame Atletico Madrid 4-2 in the shootout to set up an epic quarter-final clash with Premier League giants Arsenal.

Julian Alvarez's reported comment on his penalty miss against Real Madrid comes to light

According to a report by MARCA (via GOAL), Atletico Madrid star Julian Alvarez was perplexed with the decision to disallow his penalty against Real Madrid. The former Manchester City star told his teammates in the dressing room that he did not feel like he double touched the ball before firing past Thibaut Courtois.

"I didn't feel like I touched the ball twice," Alvarez reportedly said.

Alvarez was not the only one with a penalty miss in the clash. Vinicius Jr had earlier missed a penalty in regulation time, while Lucas Vazquez and Marcos Llorente also failed to score their kicks during the shootout.