There has been an ongoing back-and-forth of statements over the past few hours regarding the penalty canceled for Julián Álvarez in the Atlético de Madrid vs Real Madrid match in the round of 16 of the Champions League. UEFA has been forced to raise its voice and issue a statement explaining why such an unprecedented decision was made.

UEFA's statement about Julián Álvarez's penalty

UEFA referred in its statement to Article 14.1 of the Laws of the Game, which states that a player cannot touch the ball with two different parts of the body while executing a penalty. A gesture that, no matter how imperceptible it seemed, led to Szymon Marciniak making the decision to cancel the penalty after consulting with the VAR.

This is the full statement issued by UEFA, attaching a video to explain the decision: “Although it was minimal, the player made contact with the ball with his supporting foot before kicking it, as shown in the attached video. Under the current rule (Laws of the Game, Rule 14.1), the VAR had to call the referee to indicate that the goal should be canceled.”

UEFA asks for the rule to be reviewed

The reason for issuing this statement by UEFA is that Atlético de Madrid requested an explanation on the matter. However, after Simeone's statements in the press conference, it seems they will not be satisfied: “I’ve never seen a penalty where they’ve called the VAR. But, well, it’s fine. They must have seen that he touched it, I want to believe they saw that.”

With the rule in hand, Szymon Marciniak made the right decision in canceling the penalty on Julián Álvarez. However, UEFA also wanted to emphasize that, following what happened, they intend to have a conversation with FIFA and IFAB. “The rule should be reviewed in cases where a double touch is clearly unintentional.”