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Topics: Champions League, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Julian Alvarez
Josh Lawless
Topics: Champions League, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Julian Alvarez
UEFA's refusal to completely clear up the Julian Alvarez penalty VAR controversy has been explained by former FIFA referee Christina Unkel.
Atletico Madrid were knocked out of the Champions League at the round of 16 by rivals Real Madrid on Wednesday night after losing a penalty shoot-out in agonising circumstances.
Atleti picked up a 1-0 win in the second leg courtesy of a quick-fire goal from Conor Gallagher, which made it 2-2 on aggregate and forced penalties at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.
15-time European champions Real won 4-2 on spot-kicks but it was a penalty from former Manchester City forward Alvarez which proved costly.
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The Argentina international found the top corner despite slipping and though it counted to begin with, a VAR check deemed Alvarez to have kicked the ball with both feet - with the double touch causing it to be disallowed and going down as a miss.
Clips circulating online showed that, without meaning to, Alvarez did indeed get the faintest of touches with his left foot before taking the shot with his right. Some Real players, including Kylian Mbappe, had spotted the unintentional infringement and appealed to the officials.
Fans have been clamouring for UEFA to clear things up with information but former ref Christina Unkel has weighed in to explain the slippery slope which would be created from releasing official footage.
"There’s going to be these kinds of situations and I always kind of laugh because laws are changed and impacted when things happen in UEFA competition and when things happen in Premier League," she said on CBS Sports.
"In this kind of situation as a decision maker as to what kind of information they put out, what kind of data and support, you’re kind of dancing around a slippery slope situation.
"If you put out information saying here are the angles they’ve decided on, here are the calibration levels, here’s where the kick-point was indicated by the semi-automated technology, this is why the referee makes the decision on X, Y and Z then you get into the slippery slope argument.
"If everyone disagrees on an offside situation with a toenail they will demand for that communication and transparency and clarity.
"That’s not helpful when you’ve got people saying we want to know the answers, everyone asks why can’t they explain it on the microphone."
UEFA did offer clarity on one particular issue relating to Alvarez's penalty. There had been suggestions that sensors, technology and even cameras had been used to determine Alvarez's double kick.
However, according to journalist Miguel Delaney, this decision was entirely made by VAR officials.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, he wrote: "UEFA is saying it is just VAR - so using replays - to confirm double touch on a penalty. No sensors used, or other tech."
Atletico boss Diego Simeone left media stunned with his reaction in the press conference, as he asked media directly: "If anyone from here has seen Julian touch the ball twice, raise your hand. Come on... no? No one?"
He then added: "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."
Real will take on Arsenal in the quarter-finals after Mikel Arteta's men thrashed PSV 9-3 over two legs.