New Clarification on Penalty Rules: Accidental Double Touch
Zurich – Significant clarifications have been made to the rules governing penalty kicks, following an incident in which Julián Álvarez, a soccer player, accidentally performed a double touch that generated controversy in the Champions League.This new interpretation will come into effect in matches organized by UEFA starting Wednesday. The European football organization announced that this modification will be applied in the Nations League match between Germany and Portugal in Munich.
The update, published by the FIFA-backed rule panel, IFAB, implies that the type of penalty that was disallowed for Atlético striker Álvarez after scoring in a penalty shootout against Real Madrid in March, must now be retaken.
In the incident, Álvarez slipped and hit the ball against his supporting left foot during the penalty shootout in the Champions League round of 16.
Even though the ball went past Real Madrid’s goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, and seemed like a valid goal, the play was reviewed by video and the goal was disallowed, resulting in Atlético’s defeat in the penalty shootout.
Although the football rules were correctly applied at the time, they were considered to be ambiguously worded. The incident was widely perceived as unfair, given that Álvarez had no intention of performing the double touch to gain an advantage.
“This situation is uncommon, and as it is not directly covered in Law 14, referees have, understandably, tended to penalize the kicker,” IFAB stated in a release. “However, this part of Law 14 is primarily intended for situations where the penalty taker deliberately touches the ball a second time before it has touched another player.”
IFAB
The IFAB clarified in a circular letter to football stakeholders that a penalty kick resulting in a goal after an accidental double touch must now be retaken.
In the event that an accidental double touch does not result in a goal, the penalty will not be retaken. In a penalty shootout, said penalty “will be recorded as missed”, according to IFAB. During regular time or extra time, a free kick will be awarded to the defending team.
This modified rule will also apply in the Club World Cup that will begin on June 14 in the United States, where Atlético will participate.
The IFAB is composed of FIFA and the four British football associations. The rules can be modified with six of the eight votes, distributed as follows: four for FIFA and one for each of the British associations.
