1 week Ago By [email protected] (Miguel Rueda)
We all remember what happened at the Metropolitano a few weeks ago. Real Madrid and Atlético played an extremely close match that was decided from the penalty spot after Julián Álvarez's 'miss'. Atlético's '19' scored his shot, but the Polish referee, Szymon Marciniak, assisted by his VAR assistant, Tomasz Kwiatkowski, decided to annul it for supposedly touching the ball twice.
The controversy quickly erupted, as in none of the footage provided by UEFA is it clearly seen that Julián Álvarez committed such an infraction. It is true that it is suggested, but the nature of VAR should not allow the use of this tool in such doubtful actions. However, despite the complaints from Atlético fans, the decision was firm and condemned the locals to elimination.
Exact Moment of Julián's Strike | Europa PressDays later, several media outlets reported that the video shown by UEFA to justify its decision was manipulated. Several experts agreed in their analysis, which has sparked a flurry of rumors. To top it off, now the European body has decided to punish the VAR referee of that match, reinforcing the hypothesis that Julián Álvarez's penalty should have counted.
Official, the Theft Is Confirmed, UEFA Punishes Julián Álvarez's Penalty RefereeAs we were saying, Szymon Marciniak was in charge of officiating the Atlético-Real Madrid Champions League match alongside his invaluable assistant, Tomasz Kwiatkowski. Whenever the Pole has refereed in Europe, he has done so alongside his compatriot. However, after the controversy with Julián Álvarez's penalty, UEFA has sidelined him.
This Thursday, Szymon Marciniak will be in charge of officiating the Europa League match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Tottenham. However, he will do so without Tomasz Kwiatkowski. The VAR assistant has been sidelined, and his place will be taken by the Spaniard Alejandro Hernández Hernández.
Undoubtedly, UEFA's decision only reinforces the idea that something strange happened with Julián Álvarez's penalty. Szymon Marciniak confessed days later that he was the one who alerted VAR to the possible double touch. However, UEFA has decided to punish only Tomasz Kwiatkowski, thus breaking up a duo that had been working together since before the last World Cup held in Qatar in 2022.
For now, neither Atlético as an institution nor Julián Álvarez personally have commented on the news. We will see what repercussions it has in the coming days..
