More than 24 hours after the events that took place at the Metropolitano during the penalty shootout of the Atlético Madrid vs Real Madrid match and Julián Álvarez's canceled penalty, all the protagonists involved have shared their versions of the events. However, Szymon Marciniak, the referee who made the decision, still had not spoken out.

Marciniak's explanation

Considered by many refereeing experts to be the best referee currently, Szymon Marciniak explained on the website Win Win the events that led him to make the decision to cancel Julián Álvarez's penalty and, most importantly, the protocol that was followed to reach that decision, making it clear that he was the first to notify the situation.

It is worth recalling that viral images showed Mbappé alerting the referees from midfield. However, Marciniak denied it. “Did Mbappé tell the referees that Álvarez touched the ball twice? That’s not true. I was the one who informed the VAR that there was a 99% chance of a double touch by Álvarez, and they reviewed it thoroughly.”

Messi’s penalty in the 2022 World Cup

This statement came hours after UEFA issued a statement explaining why Julián Álvarez's penalty was correctly canceled according to Rule 14.1 of the Laws of the Game. “To be honest, I had never faced a situation like this in my refereeing career, but the players know the rules,” said Marciniak.

However, it’s important to remember that this is not the first time Szymon Marciniak has faced a virtually identical situation. One only needs to look a few years back to the 2022 World Cup, when Leo Messi scored a goal in the final against France, where the ball appeared to brush his supporting foot. UEFA, in fact, has already requested a review of this rule.