Category sport-news

UEFA on Thursday said it would consider a potential rule change after Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez’s penalty was controversially disallowed in their Champions League shootout loss to Real Madrid.

Real Madrid won Wednesday’s shootout 4-2 after a 2-2 draw on aggregate to qualify for the quarter-finals, with Atletico coach Diego Simeone casting suspicion on the decision to rule out Alvarez’s spot-kick. The Argentina international was deemed by VAR to have kicked the ball twice, touching it with his standing foot as he slipped before striking to score.

“Although minimal, the player made contact with the ball using his standing foot before kicking it”, UEFA said in a statement. “Under the current rule, the VAR had to call the referee signalling that the goal should be disallowed”.

However, European football’s governing body said it would hold talks with the sport’s lawmakers regarding the rule on double touches.

READ ALSO:]FULL LIST] UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final Fixtures

“UEFA will enter discussions with FIFA and IFAB to determine whether the rule should be reviewed in cases where a double touch is clearly unintentional”, it added.

Simeone said he wanted to believe the officials got the penalty decision right.

“I’ve never seen a penalty where they’ve called the VAR, but well, they would have seen that he touched it, I want to believe, I want to believe they saw he touched it”.

The coach asked members of the media during his press conference to raise their hand if they had seen a replay in which it was clear Alvarez had touched the ball twice.

“Raise your hand, anyone who saw Julian touch it twice, who is going to raise their hand? Nobody has raised their hand”, shouted Simeone.

Captain Kylian Mbappe returned to the France squad named Thursday for this month’s UEFA Nations League quarter-final against Croatia, as Paris Saint-Germain teenager Desire Doue earned a first call-up.

Mbappe, 26, was left out of the last two France squads by coach Didier Deschamps for the Nations League group stage in October and November.

The Real Madrid superstar was initially dropped because of fitness concerns, before later being left out amidst headlines about his private life.

READ ALSO: Mbappe, Vinicius Help Real Madrid Beat Rayo Vallecano

Deschamps said at the time that his decision to do without Mbappe was “for the best” due to the noise surrounding the striker.

Mbappe has been in fine form for Real in the months since and has scored 28 goals in all competitions this season for the club he joined last year.

“I have chatted with him and I confirm what I already said a few weeks ago, that he will be the captain”, Deschamps said in response to questions about Mbappe’s ongoing role as skipper.

The versatile Doue, meanwhile, has been rewarded for his impressive club form.

The 19-year-old has scored or set up a total of 17 goals in 23 appearances since becoming a regular in the PSG side in mid-December.

Capable of playing as a winger as well as in midfield, Doue was outstanding after coming off the bench for PSG in Tuesday’s Champions League last 16, second leg against Liverpool, and scored the winning kick in the penalty shoot-out.

Signed by PSG from Rennes for a reported 50 million euros ($54.1m) in August, Doue was part of Thierry Henry’s France Under-23 team that won the silver medal at the Paris Olympics last year.

“He is not always a starter for his club but whenever he plays or comes on he has made a lot of progress”, Deschamps said.

“He is a very young player but he is an interesting one for us. I could have waited but I have called him up now because I think it is the right time”.

France face Croatia away in Split in the first leg of the quarter-final next Thursday, March 20, in a tie that is a repeat of the 2018 World Cup final won by Les Bleus.

The sides will clash in the second leg at the Stade de France on Sunday, March 23.

The winners will advance to the final four, which will take place in either Italy or Germany in June.

N’Golo Kante is the most notable absentee from the squad, with Deschamps revealing that the Saudi Arabia-based midfielder has been nursing a minor muscle injury.

Squad Goalkeepers: Lucas Chevalier (Lille), Mike Maignan (AC Milan/ITA), Brice Samba (Rennes)

Defenders: Jonathan Clauss (Nice), Lucas Digne (Aston Villa/ENG), Theo Hernandez (AC Milan/ITA), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool/ENG), Jules Kounde (Barcelona/ESP), Benjamin Pavard (Inter Milan/ITA), William Saliba (Arsenal/ENG), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich/GER)

Midfielders: Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid/ESP), Matteo Guendouzi (Lazio/ITA), Manu Kone (Roma/ITA), Adrien Rabiot (Marseille), Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid/ESP), Warren Zaire-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain)

Forwards: Bradley Barcola, Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue (all Paris Saint-Germain), Randal Kolo Muani (Juventus/ITA, on loan from Paris Saint-Germain), Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid/ESP), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich/GER), Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan/ITA)

Wayne Rooney thinks former side Manchester United look “lost” and “scared” on the pitch and that “10 to 15 players need to leave the club”.

Fallen giants United are a lowly 14th in the Premier League, with the likes of Brentford, Bournemouth, Brighton and Nottingham Forest all above them in English football’s top-flight.

United have won just nine out of 28 league games so far this season and have been knocked out of both domestic cup competitions, with their hopes of winning any silverware this term hanging on Thursday’s Europa League last 16 second-leg tie against Real Sociedad at Old Trafford.

READ ALSO: FULL LIST: UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final Fixtures

A hoped for upturn in results since Ruben Amorim replaced the sacked Erik ten Hag as manager has so far failed to materialise, with the Portuguese coach presiding over a mere five wins from 17 Premier League fixtures.

United great Rooney, the club’s record goalscorer, was blunt when asked on the Stick to Football podcast if there was any hope of a resurgence with the current squad.

“No, I don’t think so,” he said. “They look lost. I think they look scared and just scared to make a mistake.

“I do think Bruno (Fernandes) is the one who keeps producing, he annoys you at times as well, but he’s the one who keeps producing. But it needs massive changes to the squad. I think 10 to 15 players need to leave the club. ”

“Obviously they can’t do that, but I think there is a mentality there where it’s not going right. This player will pass it on to him, he’ll pass it on to him and no one is taking responsibility. ”

The 39-year-old Rooney, who mentioned United captain Fernandes and teenage fellow midfielder Kobbie Mainoo as players he would keep at United, added: “I think there is just a culture there now where it’s too easy for them to lose games and then you see them coming out (with), ‘on to the next one’ and all this rubbish.

“You’re like ‘just show it on the pitch — show some character and fight on the pitch’.

“It’s bad watching, it hurts. Being from Liverpool but spending so many years at Man United, I want the club to do well. I’ve got my kids in the academy there — and watching it, it hurts. ”

United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe said Monday in a BBC interview that some of the club’s players were “not good enough” and “some probably are overpaid”.

When Amorim was asked about those comments on Wednesday ahead of the Sociedad match, he said: “I think if we are being honest in this moment everybody — me, all the players — are underperforming this season so we can always change that. ”