Controversial VAR decision favouring Real Madrid over Atletico in UCL sparks backlash

After a 2-2 aggregate scoreline over two legs, the match went to penalties, where Real Madrid triumphed 4-2 to advance to the quarter-finals.

However, controversy erupted during Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez’s penalty.

He slipped and struck the ball into the goalpost, but after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review, officials ruled that Alvarez had made an illegal second touch with his left foot before shooting with his right, breaching the penalty rules.

As a result, the goal was disallowed, giving Real Madrid an advantage.

This decision triggered outrage from some football fans, who argued that Alvarez did not touch the ball a second time, as the video replay seemed to show.

Many accused Polish referee Szymon Marciniak and his officiating team of rigging the match in Real Madrid’s favour, depriving Atletico of a fair chance at progression.

Others also criticised the officials for corruption, claiming that Alvarez should have been allowed to retake the penalty rather than have it disallowed entirely.

Read the reactions below:

Horrendous decision.

You can’t even be certain of contact, it’s supposed to be there to fix clear errors. VAR’s implementation is a joke at this point

— Pena Cartel 🗿 (@PenaCartel) March 12, 2025

It’s so clear this was a robbery.

Real Madrid won because they robbed Atlético Madrid by ruling out Julián Álvarez’s kick for a double touch.

There’s video evidence, and everyone can clearly see it wasn’t a double touch. It’s so sad that Atlético has to go through this.…

— Trust Issue (@issue2041) March 12, 2025

I hope Athletico launch an investigation into VAR and/or that rule changes because even if there was contact it was so minimal it wouldn’t have effected the flight of the ball and is so unfair on the penalty taker especially considering he slipped!

— Lee Mc Donald (@returnofthemc11) March 12, 2025

The Julian Alvarez penalty kick is all the evidence we needed towards proving that Real Madrid has some pact with the devil in the Champions League.

— Tactical Manager (@ManagerTactical) March 12, 2025

Athletico were robbed plain and simple… i cant see the double touch and Athletico deserved to win they were the better team on the night

— ✨️Jeni M✨️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (@Jeni_m81) March 12, 2025

I’ve still not seen any angle from the Alvarez penalty that conclusively shows a double kick. Trajectory and spin of the ball didn’t change one bit so I’m confused how VAR decided in just a few seconds.

— Owuraku Ampofo (@_owurakuampofo) March 12, 2025

Real Madrid robbing the penalty shootout win from Alvarez and Atletico Madrid pic.twitter.com/sUvKm2ax1O

— PHÎ.ŁÎP  (@utdphiIip) March 12, 2025

Nah, that Álvarez penalty. Robbery at its peak. pic.twitter.com/ySrooXXX2l

— SK10 𓃵 (@SK10_Football) March 12, 2025