VAR ROBBERY! Reason Why Julian Alvarez’s Penalty Kick in Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid Didn’t Count – VAR is really in for Madrid to win it again this season
VAR ROBBERY! Reason Why Julian Alvarez’s Penalty Kick in Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid Didn’t Count – VAR is really in for Madrid to win it again this season
It took Antonio Rudiger of Real Madrid to squeeze his penalty spot past Jan Oblak to send Los Blancos through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League against Arsenal – but controversy struck after Julian Alvarez’s spot-kick was ruled out.
During the 120 minutes of action, midfielder Conor Gallagher’s first-minute strike opened and closed the scoring on Wednesday night after Diego Simeone’s side trailed after the first leg, which ended 2-1 in favour of the Santiago Bernabeu outfit.
Kylian Mbappe stepped up first to convert before Alexander Sorloth was on hand to draw proceedings level from the spot. Real Madrid poster boy Jude Bellingham finished cutely before Alvarez, 25, took the well-trodden path from the half-way line to the spot in the 18-yard box.
Referee Szymon Marciniak blew his whistle, the Argentine talisman stepped up and slotted his penalty home, eliciting a sight of collective relief from the home contingent – but the elation quickly turned into misery
Despite slipping in the process, Alvarez believed that he had scored his effort from 12 yards out after Thibaut Courtois dived the wrong way. However, perhaps unbeknownst to the home fans within the Wanda Metropolitano, VAR intervened, and it was thus chalked off for a double touch. And according to IFAB’s rules and regulations, a player is unable to do so.
As Alvarez, formerly of Premier League juggernauts Manchester City and boyhood club River Plate, touched the ball twice himself, it means the penalty was unable to stand upon VAR getting involved and notifying the man in the middle.
After the controversy in the all-action penalty shootout, the all-action Federico Valverde was next up to take – and the Uruguayan sharpshooter rifled his effort home before Angel Correa followed suit for Atletico Madrid.
A duo of misses – one from either side – then followed as Lucas Vazquez and Marcos Llorente were unable to pounce on the respective openings. Rudiger, as mentioned, was on hand to convert the concluding spot kick, much to the delight of his teammates.
As alluded to, Ancelotti’s men – who are record winners of Europe’s premier competition – have a date with Mikel Arteta’s men in the two-legged quarterfinals as they look to retain their status as the continent’s greatest outfit.
