Referee reveals the truth about Real Madrid’s penalty shootout drama – ‘There was 99% chance…’ | OneFootball

Polish referee Szymon Marciniak, who officiated the second leg of the Champions League clash between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, has shared details about one of the most debated moments of the match.

The fixture ended with Real Madrid securing their place in the quarter-finals, but a major talking point emerged when Julian Alvarez’s penalty was disallowed.

The incident sparked widespread discussion, and Marciniak has now revealed what went on behind the scenes.

What really happened?

During the game, Alvarez stepped up to take the penalty, but the goal was ruled out after a review. The reason? The Argentine striker unintentionally made contact with the ball twice when striking it.

Marciniak explained that he was the one who initially suspected the double touch and informed the VAR officials about it.

He was almost certain that Alvarez had made two contacts with the ball, prompting the video assistant referees to analyse the footage carefully.

Julian Alvarez’s penalty was disallowed. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

“I was the one who informed the VAR referees that there was a 99% chance that Alvarez touched the ball twice, and they checked it thoroughly,” he said.

There had been rumours suggesting that Real Madrid players had pressured the referee to check the decision, but Marciniak dismissed these claims outright.

“It is absolutely false that Mbappe told me anything about the two touches.”

Facing the situation

The Polish official also admitted that this was a rare situation in football. In all his years as a referee, he had never encountered such an incident.

However, he emphasised that players are fully aware of the rules and that the decision was made according to the official regulations.

“To be honest, I’ve never faced a situation like this in my refereeing career,” he confessed, although insisting that “the players know the rules.”

UEFA responded

To clear up any confusion surrounding the incident, UEFA later released a video along with an official statement.

The footage showed that Alvarez’s standing foot had made slight contact with the ball just before he struck it, leading to a violation of the rules.

Under Law 14.1 of the Laws of the Game, this meant that the goal had to be disallowed, as confirmed by the VAR review.

Source: AS