UEFA will look into the possibility of reviewing the double touch rule that helped lead to Atletico Madrid’s loss in a penalty shootout against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
UEFA said on Thursday it will enter discussions with FIFA and the International Football Association Board "to determine whether the rule should be reviewed in cases where a double touch is clearly unintentional.”
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is soccer's rules-making panel.
UEFA's statement came a day after Atletico Madrid lost 4-2 in the shootout against city rival Real Madrid in the second leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League. Atletico won 1-0 after regulation and extra time to force the shootout. Real Madrid won the first leg 2-1 last week at home.
With Atletico down 2-1 in the shootout in Metropolitano Stadium, forward Julián Álvarez touched the ball twice — although barely — while taking his kick and scoring.
Álvarez’s left foot slipped and contacted the ball slightly before he shot with his right foot. The referee did not initially see the double touch and allowed the goal to stand.
Real Madrid players immediately called the referee's attention to check on a double touch.
Video review intervened quickly and reversed the original call after determining the double touch.
Atletico wasn't so sure it happened even after watching different replays. The club made an official inquiry with UEFA to have the incident reviewed.
“Although minimal, the player made contact with the ball using his standing foot before kicking it, as shown in the attached video clip,” UEFA said after Atletico's inquiry. “Under the current rule (Laws of the Game, Law 14.1), the VAR had to call the referee signaling that the goal should be disallowed.”
The rule
The double touch rule exists to keep players from moving the ball closer to the goal on penalties.
The rule by IFAB states “the ball is in play when it is kicked and clearly moves,” and “the kicker must not play the ball again until it has touched another player.”
If the infraction happens outside of a shootout, an indirect free kick is awarded to the other team.
Without the rule, players could potentially attempt to dribble the ball closer to the net before taking their shots.
Similar case in South America
A similar case happened in a penalty shootout in the round of 16 of the 2023 Copa Libertadores.
River Plate player Pablo Solari also slipped and touched the ball twice before scoring, prompting VAR to disallow the goal that ended up leading to the elimination of the Argentine club against Brazil's Internacional.
There were also doubts about a possible double touch in a penalty taken by an Athletic Bilbao player in last year's Copa del Rey final, as well as one taken by Lionel Messi in the final of the 2022 World Cup in a match officiated by Szymon Marciniak, the same referee from Wednesday's Champions League derby in Madrid.
None of those two penalties were disallowed.
Atletico skeptical?
Neither Atletico coach Diego Simeone nor Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said they saw the double touch when it happened on Wednesday, though Madrid players at the midfield line, including Kylian Mbappé, were quick to point it out to the referee.
Simeone tried not to make a big deal about the VAR decision, but he said in the post-match news conference that he had never seen video review intervene like that in a penalty shootout. He said he wanted “to believe that if the VAR intervened it’s because it saw something.”
The coach asked reporters in the post-match news conference to raise their hands if they thought Álvarez touched the ball twice.
“There you go, no one has raised their hands,” Simeone said, “Next question.”
Álvarez has not yet spoken publicly about his penalty shot.
