Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone was fuming with the referee’s decision to rule out Julian Alvarez’s spot kick in the penalty shootout as they were knocked out of the Champions League by rivals Real Madrid on Wednesday.
Real won the shootout 4-2 to advance to the quarter-finals following an enthralling last-16 tie which ended 2-2 on aggregate after Atletico’s 1-0 win on Wednesday.
During the shootout, Alvarez slipped and the VAR spotted that his left foot touched the ball slightly before he kicked it with his right. With only one touch permitted, the penalty, which would have levelled the shootout at 2-2, was chalked off.
Simeone was left frustrated with referee Szymon Marciniak’s decision, saying that he was yet to see an image that conclusively showed that Alvarez touched the ball twice.
“I’ve never seen the VAR called to review a penalty in a shootout… Never!” the Argentine told a press conference.
“Did you see him touching the ball twice? Please whoever was present in the stadium and saw him touching the ball twice, the ball moving, please come forward and raise your hand!
“I don’t see anybody with their hand raised so that’s all I have to say… next question.”
Simeone said that despite the heartbreaking defeat he was proud of his players and hoped they could recover quickly as they host title rivals Barcelona in LaLiga on Sunday.
Only one point separates Spain’s three biggest clubs in one of the closest LaLiga title races in recent years with Barca leading the pack on 57 points, ahead of second-placed Real Madrid on goal difference with Atletico Madrid in third on 56 points. Barca have a game in hand over both.
“We’ll see if this defeat will cost us moving forward, the way we went out it’s not easy to digest,” Simeone said.
“We have a great opponent on Sunday. I’m sure Barça wanted us to go to extra time. We will get to the game tired, beaten after we competed the way we had to compete tonight, but we’ll give it everything we’ve got on Sunday.
“Our fans went home annoyed, but knowing that their team gave their all. There’s a way to go to sleep thinking too bad, but this team deserved the applause. It was a beautiful evening but unfortunately we didn’t go through. I go home in defeat, but in peace…”
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Editing by Toby Davis)
