Uefa to discuss penalty rules with lawmakers after Alvarez miss

Uefa says it will discuss the rules around penalties with the game’s lawmakers after Julian Alvarez’s spot kick was disallowed in Atletico Madrid’s Champions League exit.

During a penalty shootout in Atletico’s last-16 tie with rivals Real Madrid, Alvarez slipped before scoring past Thibaut Courtois.

However, following a review by the video assistant (VAR) referee, the goal was ruled out becaue the Argentine forward was deemed to have touched the ball twice and Real went through after winning the shootout 4-2.

On Thursday, European football’s governing body Uefa said that despite the law being applied correctly in Madrid, it would review the current rules with the International Football Association Board (Ifab) and world governing body Fifa regarding cases where a double touch is “clearly unintentional”.

Article 14.1 of Ifab’s laws around a penalty states: “The kicker must not play the ball again until it has touched another player”.

In a statement, Uefa said: “Under the current rule (Laws of the Game, Law 14.1), the VAR had to call the referee signalling that the goal should be disallowed”.