It was a frantic 24 hours within Atlético. A day in which, mainly, the club's legal services calmly studied what happened in that second penalty of the shootout against Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16. There are doubts in the Atlético offices about the referee's decision to cancel the penalty for considering that Julián Álvarez touched the ball twice before scoring.
These doubts were initially expressed in a complaint to UEFA, which responded with a categorical statement and video. "Although minimal, the player makes contact with the ball with the supporting foot before shooting, as seen in the attached video." And cites article 14.1 of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) Laws of the Game as justification for the referee's decision. "The penalty taker may not play the ball a second time until it has been touched by another player," cites that article.
However, Atlético believes that the previous phrase in that section nullifies UEFA's argument. "The ball will be in play when it is kicked and moves clearly," the text states. Thus, they argue from the club that Julián Álvarez's alleged touch before the shot cannot be considered a clear movement of the ball.
The club issued a statement through the EFE agency expressing "incredulity" and the "tremendous harm" to the entity from a play that represents "an error in the use of VAR" and has "shattered the dreams of thousands of fans." However, they state that they do not want to make excuses and maintain "full respect for the refereeing work."
They will not appeal a decision that, according to the European Disciplinary Regulations, as explained in article 9.1, states that it will not change the match result: "Decisions taken by the referee on the field are final and cannot be reviewed by UEFA disciplinary bodies." In this context, it is worth noting that IFAB rules also establish that the validity of matches will not be affected by incorrect VAR decisions or unrevisable decision reviews. "When VAR was implemented, it was already indicated that, even with errors, matches could not be replayed. This would lead to hundreds of matches being challenged every week worldwide," points out Álvaro Gómez de la Vega, partner at Jofre Sports Law.
However, there are precedents and a section, number two, of the aforementioned article 9 of the Disciplinary Regulations, which opened the door to a claim by the Atlético team, which will ultimately not happen. This refers to cases where a referee's decision involves an "obvious error." "Challenging the match is unfeasible because it is for very specific cases, and it does not apply to the Wednesday match where it is evident from the image that the player touched the ball twice," points out Gómez de la Vega.
The precedent that Atlético could rely on is a penalty taken by Martín Palermo in the 1999 Clausura Tournament against Platense. Despite the Argentine touching the ball twice, the referee awarded the penalty. The play later raised doubts at FIFA, which consulted IFAB.
"The player accidentally touched the ball a second time after slipping before it entered the goal. This fact cannot be considered a voluntary act, and according to the spirit of the rules of the game, the referee correctly awarded the goal," responded the organization. In fact, in Julián Álvarez's case, UEFA has also reopened the debate with FIFA and IFAB on whether this rule should be reviewed.
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said he noticed what happened in the play live. "I felt he touched it twice and I told the referee," explained the Madrid goalkeeper, adding, "It's not easy to see, and it's bad luck for them." The player was caught on camera admitting to several teammates during the shootout that he might have done it. "It could be. I don't know, but it could be," he told Correa, Lino, and Barrios who asked him in the group of Atlético players.
At the end of Thursday, on his social media, Julián Álvarez took the opportunity to comment on the tie but avoided talking about the penalty. "It hurts to be knocked out after giving everything on the field and fighting until the last minute. It didn't go our way, but this team showed character, dedication, and heart," he wrote, thanking the fans for their support and congratulating Real Madrid on advancing.
Minutes after Madrid's qualification for the quarterfinals, the term "robbery" became a worldwide trending topic. Simeone, on the other hand, rose to the top 3 after his outburst in the press conference about the controversial play. However, today another word occupies the minds of the coaching staff: "Barcelona."