UEFA release statement on Julian Alvarez 'double kick' controversy as new angle of Atletico penalty emerges

UEFA have released a statement on Julian Alvarez's 'double' penalty kick during Atletico Madrid's Champions League last 16 defeat against Real Madrid.

Atletico took the game to penalties after beating Real 1-0 in the second leg at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Midfielder Conor Gallagher scored the only goal in the first minute for Diego Simeone's side, who almost won the game in normal time through Angel Correa.

The tie subsequently went to penalties, with Real winning 4-2 to secure progression to the quarter-finals and a tie against Arsenal.

But there was major controversy over Alvarez's spot kick, which he initially scored beyond Thibaut Courtois.

Julian Alvarez was deemed to have kicked the ball twice when taking his penalty (Image: Getty)

The successful penalty initially stood, but was disallowed by VAR after the Argentinian was deemed to have illegally kicked the ball with both feet from the spot.

Several angles emerged after the match which appeared to show Alvarez had indeed kicked it with both feet, though fans argued for both conclusions.

Now, UEFA have clarified a key part of their process behind deciding he had committed a 'double kick'.

As per Miguel Delaney, UEFA have confirmed that only the VAR officials determined whether Alvarez had kicked the ball twice, with no other sensors or technology used for assistance.

Image: Twitter/Miguel Delaney

The potential infraction was spotted by Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, who immediately claimed that a double touch had taken place.

Atletico boss Diego Simeone was unhappy with the decision but did not criticise the VAR officials in his post-match interview.

He said: "I just saw the image of the penalty. The referee said that, when Julian stepped and kicked, he touched the ball with his foot. But the ball didn't move.

"That's something to discuss about whether it was a goal or not, but I'm proud of my players.

"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."