Diego Simeone has expressed his frustration with VAR after Julian Alvarez’s controversial penalty was disallowed, leading to Atletico Madrid’s Champions League exit against Real Madrid. The Argentine manager believes the decision was unfair and played a crucial role in his team’s defeat.
In a tense penalty shootout, Alvarez, who joined Atletico from Manchester City last year, stepped up to take the fourth spot-kick with Real leading 2-1. The Argentine forward slipped as he struck the ball, which deflected off his standing leg before hitting the net. However, VAR intervened and ruled it as a “double touch,” which violates FIFA’s penalty rules.
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was quick to alert the referee about the incident, and after a VAR review, the goal was disallowed. This gave Federico Valverde the chance to extend Real’s lead before Antonio Rudiger sealed the 4-2 victory with the winning penalty.
Simeone was furious with the decision, insisting that the ball didn’t move when Alvarez made contact. “I just saw the image of the penalty. The referee said Julian touched the ball twice, but the ball didn’t move. I don’t understand the decision,” Simeone said in his post-match interview.
The Atletico boss even challenged reporters to raise their hands if they believed Alvarez made a double contact. “What did you see? Raise your hand if you think Julian touched it twice. I didn’t speak to him because I’m convinced the ball didn’t move,” he added.
Despite the painful exit, Simeone praised his squad, including key performers like Antoine Griezmann and Alvaro Morata, who fought hard throughout the 120 minutes. “This team gave everything on the pitch and deserved the applause from the fans,” Simeone said.
Atletico’s defense, led by Jose Gimenez and Mario Hermoso, managed to keep Real’s attacking stars like Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr at bay for large parts of the match. However, Vinicius missed a crucial penalty in regular time before being substituted for young forward Endrick in extra time.
With their Champions League hopes shattered, Atletico now shift focus to La Liga, where they will face Barcelona this weekend. Simeone will be hoping for big performances from key players like Rodrigo De Paul and Koke as they aim to secure a top-four finish.