Christina Unkel, a former referee for FIFA, has provided an explanation for the refusal of UEFA to completely clear up the controversy surrounding the video assistant referee (VAR) decision regarding the penalty awarded to Julian Alvarez.
After suffering a heartbreaking defeat in a penalty shootout, Atletico Madrid was eliminated from the Champions League in the round of 16 on Wednesday night. Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid’s rivals, ended up eliminating them from the competition.
Atletico Madrid was able to secure a 1-0 victory in the second leg of the match at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano thanks to a goal scored by Conor Gallagher in a flash. This goal brought the aggregate score to 2-2 and compelled the team to take penalties.
“15 times” Real Madrid, the reigning champions of Europe, prevailed 4-2 on penalties, but it was a penalty kick taken by Alvarez, a former forward for Manchester City, that proved to be problematic.
In spite of the fact that he had slipped, the Argentina international was able to find the top corner of the net. However, a video assistant referee (VAR) review determined that Alvarez had kicked the ball with both feet, which resulted in the goal being disallowed and being counted as a miss.
Clips that were going around the internet demonstrated that Alvarez did, in fact, make the slightest of touches with his left foot before taking the shot with his right foot. This was done without any intention on his part. The unintentional infringement was brought to the attention of the officials by a few Real Madrid players, including Kylian Mbappe, after they had noticed it.
A former referee named Christina Unkel has weighed in to explain the slippery slope that would be created by releasing official footage. Fans have been clamouring for UEFA to clarify the situation with information, but Unkel has weighed in to explain the situation.
“There’s going to be these kinds of situations and I always kind of laugh because laws are changed and impacted when things happen in UEFA competition and when things happen in Premier League,” she stated during her appearance on CBS Sports.
“When you are in a situation like this, as a decision maker, you are kind of dancing around a slippery slope situation. This is because you are deciding what kind of information they put out, what kind of data and support they provide.
If you were to publish information that stated, “Here are the angles that they have decided on, here are the calibration levels, here is where the kick-point was indicated by the semi-automated technology, and here is why the referee makes the decision on X, Y, and Z,” then you would be entering the slippery slope argument.
If there is a disagreement among all of the individuals regarding an offside situation with a toenail, then they will demand that communication, transparency, and clarity be provided.
“That’s not helpful when you’ve got people saying we want to know the answers, everyone asks why can’t they explain it on the microphone.”
UEFA did have a statement to make.
Clarification was provided by UEFA regarding a specific matter that was associated with Alvarez’s penalty. For the purpose of determining Alvarez’s double kick, there were rumours that sensors, technology, and even cameras had been utilised.
But Miguel Delaney, a journalist, claims that the decision was made entirely by officials from the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
He wrote the following on X, which was formerly known as Twitter: “UEFA is saying that it is just VAR – so using replays – to confirm double touch on a penalty for a penalty.” No other technology or sensors were utilised.”
The reaction that Diego Simeone, the manager of Atletico Madrid, gave during the press conference left the media in a state of shock. He asked the media directly, “If anyone from here has seen Julian touch the ball twice, raise your hand.” Don’t you think so? Is there no one?
After that, he continued by saying, “I just saw the image of the reward.” During the time that Julian stepped and kicked, the referee stated that he made contact with the ball with his foot. Despite this, the ball did not move.
“That is something that should be discussed regarding whether or not it was a goal, but I am proud of my players,” the coach said.
According to him, the ball does not move in any way, shape, or form when he kicks and plants his foot. On the other hand, if the video assistant referee (VAR) called it, while I have never witnessed a VAR call a penalty, it is still valid, and they will have seen that he touched it. I have a strong desire to believe that they will have noticed that he touched it.
After Real Madrid defeated PSV by a score of 9-3 over the course of two legs, Arsenal will be Real Madrid’s opponent in the quarterfinals.II
