FOOTBALL fans were left furious after Julian Alvarez saw his penalty shootout goal ruled out following a VAR intervention.
Conor Gallagher‘s early goal for Atletico Madrid after 27 seconds had forced extra-time and penalties with holders Real Madrid during the second leg of the Madrid derby Champions League last 16 clash.
Both sides were unable to find a decisive winner, with Vinicius Jr blazing a spot-kick over the bar in the second half, so a shootout was needed to separate the teams at the end of more than 210 minutes of action.
With the away side kicking first, the first three penalties were all scored.
Ex-Manchester City star Alvarez then stepped up for his sides second penalty at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Catastrophe struck as the Argentine slipped during his run-up, but his effort still managed to find its way into the net.
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However, VAR seemed to spot something wrong with the kick.
And upon a review, Alvarez saw his goal ruled out for an extraordinary double touch.
Atletico scored their next penalty through Angel Correa, but were sent crashing out of the competition by their neighbours once again when Marcos Llorente saw his kick saved by Thibaut Courtois.
Fans were left fuming about the inexplicable intervention by VAR, accusing it of favouring the 15-time European Champions.
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One fan on social media said: “Football will never see anything like this again. A historic robbery has taken place at the Metropolitano with the whole world watching. Payments have come in clutch.”
A second said: “Cancelling a penalty because there might have been a double touch is abhorrent. At the very least, Álvarez should be given a chance to retake it.
“But if there isn’t even clear-cut evidence of a double touch, why nullify it? There’s no other way to put it: it’s anti-football.”
A third added: “The Julian Alvarez penalty kick is all the evidence we needed towards proving that Real Madrid has some pact with the devil in the Champions League.”
Atleti boss Diego Simeone was incandescent as ever when discussing the intervention, asking reporters to raise their hand if they saw the apparent double touch.
He then shouted: “Did anyone here see Julián touch the ball twice? Raise your hand! Come on, come on! Raise your hand! Nobody’s raising theirs, ready! Next question…”
However, slowed-down replays from of the incident showed there was indeed a slight double-touch.
Football lawmakers, IFAB, clearly write in the laws of the game that the double touch of a penalty kick is forbidden.
Law 14.2 states: “The kicker touches the ball again before it has touched another player; an indirect free kick (or direct free kick for a handball offence) is awarded.”
Law 10, which clarifies the rules around shootouts, also adds: “If the kicker is penalised for an offence committed after the referee has signalled for the kick to be taken, that kick is recorded as missed and the kicker is cautioned.”
Real Madrid‘s progression into the quarter-finals sees them play Arsenal, who were eliminated at this stage by Bayern Munich last season.
The first leg will commence at the Emirates on April 8, with the second leg commencing the following week on April 16.
These two clubs have remarkably only met once before in the Champions League in 2005/06.
Arsenal emerged as 1-0 victors over a two-legged semi-final thanks to Thierry Henry goal early in the second half at the Bernabeu.
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That season was the last time the Gunners made it to the final of the competition.
The winner of the tie will play one of Paris Saint-Germain or Aston Villa for a spot in the final at the Allianz Arena.
