During a recent Champions League shootout, Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez had his penalty disallowed after a VAR review found he had struck the ball twice. This led to Atletico's elimination from the tournament by their city rivals, Real Madrid. Barcelona manager Hansi Flick expressed sympathy for Alvarez, praising his talent but commenting on the unfortunate nature of the incident. Meanwhile, Atletico's Diego Simeone voiced his anger regarding the controversial call and the impact it had on his team. Amid the fury, UEFA hinted at potential revisions to the rules governing such scenarios in the future.
Flick was asked about the controversy before his Barcelona side travel to Atletico's Metropolitano stadium on Sunday night. "What do you want me to say?" the German coach shrugged. "It was very unfortunate. I felt sorry for him. He's one of the best players, a fantastic footballer, and a great goalscorer. I feel sorry for him, I repeat... but I have nothing more to say."
UEFA have revealed slow-motion footage of the incident which appears to show Alvarez's standing foot gently brush the ball before contact is made with his swinging right boot.
Yet, nothing could quell the rage still boiling in Diego Simeone. The first question bravely put to the forthright Atletico coach this week was inevitably about the penalty debate. 'Normally I would answer 'Barcelona,' but this time the situation warrants expressing my feelings of anger.'
After Lucas Vazquez's subsequent miss, Marcos Llorente's wayward effort proved to be the decisive errant kick as Atletico crashed out of the Champions League at the hands of their city rivals once again.
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