The contentious choice to give Real Madrid the winning penalty in Tuesday night’s 2-1 victory over Marseille has been discussed by a rules expert. On the first night of the 2025–26 Champions League, Timothy Weah gave the French team the lead in just 22 minutes, forcing Xabi Alonso’s team to work hard.
Kylian Mbappe levelled the score from the penalty spot in just six minutes, but Real Madrid had to wait until the 81st minute to get another lucky break at the Bernabeu. Vinícius Jr. was the victim of a sliding tackle by Facundo Medina, which resulted in a handball call that gave Europe’s most successful team their game-winning second penalty. View the incident below:
There is a lot of controversy surrounding the decision, especially among the Marseille camp. Roberto De Zerbi sulked after the game, saying, “It’s never a penalty.” It’s embarrassing! Everyone was discussing the unfairness against Real Madrid following the game against Real Sociedad.
A Rules Specialist Offers Opinion on the Divisive Real Madrid Penalty
In an interview with CBS Sports Golazo, Christina Unkel, a former FIFA referee who is now an expert in rules, criticised Irfan Peljto’s decision but attributed the majority of the fault to VAR, who she believed ought to have invited the Bosnian official to the pitchside monitor to reconsider his initial call. Watch what she said below:
He has nowhere else to move his arm, so it’s only normal that he would do so. It’s [the handball] expected. However, we’ve discussed how even the rules have been interpreted in relation to distance; did he take matters into his own hands? It’s natural because he’s making that defensive challenge, which is why most of that contact happens.
“I disagree with this decision and don’t believe it was the right one to make. I believe that ‘no penalty’ should have been the ruling. ‘Why did VAR not recommend to overturn the penalty decision?’ will be the next question. I believe that it qualifies as a blatant and evident error, and when we discuss it next week, referees will learn this from the UEFA observer.”
Ian Paul Joy, a regular on CBS Sports Golazo, also offered his thoughts on the contentious event, calling it “one of the worst decisions I’ve ever seen.” “I think Marseille can feel hard done by,” he bemoaned.
“This game was definitely a flip-flop for the referee. It was a bad call; in my opinion, it was among the worst choices ever made for a handball in the Champions League. Additionally, I don’t believe I’ve ever witnessed such a bad choice in all of football. We must eliminate this from our game.
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