In Atletico Madrid’s Champions League round-of-16 loss to Real Madrid, Julián Álvarez was “incredulous” when his penalty kick was denied, a source told ESPN, despite the fact that video seemed to show the forward acknowledging that he had touched the ball twice while speaking with teammates. Conor Gallagher’s early goal put Atletico ahead 1-0 at the Metropolitano on Wednesday, tying the score at 2-2. However, Real beat Arsenal in a penalty shootout to go to the quarterfinals.
After a VAR check revealed that Álvarez had touched the ball twice, once with each foot, before defeating Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, his penalty was overturned. Álvarez had not felt that he had touched the ball twice, according to a source close to the Atletico Madrid locker room who spoke to ESPN, and his shot had gone where he had intended. According to the source, Álvarez was “incredulous” at the decision, which caused early uncertainty inside the stadium, because he had not seen any unambiguous photographs that demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt that the spot kick should have been denied.
