image via ~ @atleticomadrid/ X

Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid: Why Was Julian Alvarez’s Penalty Ruled Out by VAR?

Real Madrid won 4-2 on penalties to advance to the quarterfinals.

image via ~ @atleticomadrid/ X

The UCL Round of 16 clash between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid went to a penalty shootout and took a controversial turn. Julian Alvarez’s penalty for Atletico was disallowed in a bizarre fashion, which eventually led to Real Madrid winning 4-2 on penalties.

Alvarez stepped up to take Atletico’s second penalty after Jude Bellingham successfully converted his. Although he scored despite slipping, it was later ruled that the Argentine had made two touches on the ball before shooting.

Referee Szymon Marciniak, who missed this in real time, was made to refer it to the VAR. Following the check, it was concluded that the goal would be ruled out because of the double touch. There wasn’t much complaining done by Atletico Madrid after the verdict at the time either.

Álvarez's penalty is overturned by VAR after a double touch 😳

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A significant portion of the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium’s crowd seemed to be unaware that Alvarez’s attempt had been disallowed, and several spectators questioned whether it should have been cancelled all altogether.

In IFAB’s 2024/25 Laws of the Game, the procedure for a penalty shootout 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.”

Diego Simeone Says He’s Never Seen a Penalty Disallowed This Way

The shootout concluded 4-2 in Real Madrid’s favour as they marched on in the final eight of the competition. Following the defeat on penalties, Atletico manager Diego Simeone expressed his thoughts on the Alvarez penalty controversy saying:

“If anyone from here has seen Julian touch the ball twice, raise your hand. Come on… no? No one?“, an animated Simeone said during post-match press conference.

“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.”

Diego Simeone: "If anyone from here has seen Julian touch the ball twice, raise your hand. Come on… no? No one?"pic.twitter.com/CS41vfzCWs
— All About Argentina 🛎🇦🇷 (@AlbicelesteTalk) March 12, 2025

On the other hand, Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois admitted that it was a “bad luck” for the Atletico team.

“I felt that he touched the ball twice and I told the referee,” he said to SkySports. “It’s not easy to see that. It was a bit of bad luck for them there.”

The 15-time UCL champions, Real Madrid, will face Premier League club Arsenal in the quarterfinals, scheduled for April 8 and 16.

Julian Alvarez

Real Madrid

Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid

UEFA Champions League

Mayur Dedwal

soccer

I’m a Sports Content Writer with expertise in football. Being a decade old football enthusiast and part-time coach, I try to bring to life to the articles in a statistical manner. Being around all kinds of sports updates and able to put in my perspective’s to the happenings in the world of football are few of the many things i like in doing what i do. You can find me playing Sunday leagues or Xbox on weekends!