After controversy over Argentine striker Julián Álvarez’s penalty kick in the Champions League, association changes rule
The International Football Association Board (IFAB), the body that sets the rules of football, announced on Tuesday (3/6) that penalty kicks with two touches of the ball, as happened with Argentine striker Julián Álvarez in the knockout match between Atlético de Madrid e Real Madrid in the last Liga dos Campeões, will have to be retaken.
The penalty “in which the kicker involuntarily hits the ball with both feet simultaneously or in which the ball touches the supporting foot immediately after the kick” is a “rare situation”, admitted the IFAB in a statement. Because it is a situation that “is not directly addressed” in the rules, “referees understandably tend to penalize the kicker for having touched the ball again before it touched another player”. In these cases, “an indirect free kick is awarded to the opponent or, in the case of a penalty shootout (penalty shootout), the kick is recorded as missed,” explains the IFAB.
The change comes after the incident that occurred on March 12, when Atlético de Madrid were eliminated in the round of 16 of the Champions League by Real Madrid. In the penalty shootout, Álvarez’s kick was disallowed because the Argentine touched the ball twice.
From July 1, when this situation occurs, as long as the two touches of the ball occur unintentionally, there will be two interpretations. “If the kick is successful, it is retaken. If the kick is unsuccessful, an indirect free kick is awarded (unless the referee uses the advantage when it clearly benefits the defending team) or, in the case of a penalty shootout, the kick is recorded as missed,” explained the IFAB in its circular. Consulted by AFP, the IFAB confirmed that the new rule will apply at the Club World Cup (June 14 to July 13).
