Diego Simeone has vehemently criticised the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for what he believes was a wrong decision regarding Julian Alvarez’s disallowed penalty in Atletico Madrid’s dramatic Champions League exit to Real Madrid.
Atletico were knocked out of the competition in the last 16 in a brutal penalty shootout, with former Manchester City player Alvarez’s spot-kick controversially ruled out during the shootout against their rivals.
Alvarez, 25, took the fourth penalty when Real Madrid were leading 2-1 in the shootout. As he struck the ball, he slipped, but it appeared as though the Argentine had got away with it when the ball flew into the top corner of the net. However, VAR intervened, and replays showed Alvarez making contact with the ball with his right foot before the ball struck his left leg, resulting in a double kick.
This violation of the rules led to Alvarez’s goal being disallowed, and Real Madrid eventually triumphed 4-2 in the shootout to eliminate Atletico.
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In the aftermath of the loss, Simeone expressed his fury during a post-match press conference, questioning the legitimacy of the VAR decision. He insisted, “The ball didn’t move,” before challenging reporters to raise their hands if they thought Alvarez had committed a double kick.
“I just saw the image of the penalty,” Simeone said. “The referee said that when Julián stepped and kicked, he touched the ball with his foot, but the ball didn’t move. That’s something to discuss about whether it was a goal or not, but I’m proud of my players.”
When pressed on whether he was ‘sure’ of his stance on the double kick, Simeone replied: “When he plants his foot and kicks, the ball doesn’t move even a little bit. But if VAR called it, I’ve never seen a penalty called by VAR, but it’s still valid, and they’ll have seen that he touched it. I want to believe they’ll have seen that he touched it.”
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Despite his objections to the decision, Simeone reiterated his pride in his team’s performance, adding: “That’s something to discuss about whether it was a goal or not, but I’m proud of my players.”
