Atletico Madrid reached out to UEFA to question the legitimacy of the decision that ruled out Alvarez’s penalty. UEFA maintained that, according to the current regulations, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was required to inform the on-field referee that the goal should not stand. Specifically, Article 14.1 stipulates: “The kicker must not make contact with the ball again until it has touched another player.”
In the aftermath of the match, UEFA announced plans to engage in talks with IFAB and FIFA to address situations where a double touch occurs in a “clearly unintentional” manner. Currently, the rules do not specifically describe how to handle accidental double touches, leading IFAB to propose that referees had “understandably” been enforcing penalties on these instances until now.
The primary intention of Law 14 is to address deliberate double touches, prompting IFAB to issue guidance to all member associations and confederations. Recognizing the unfairness of allowing an accidental double touch to count as a valid goal—especially since this could disadvantage goalkeepers due to changes in the ball’s trajectory—IFAB clarified that if an accidental double-touch results in a goal, the penalty should be retaken instead of being disallowed outright.
Should these kicks fail, an indirect free kick will be awarded to the opposing team during regular play or noted as a miss in a penalty shootout. This updated interpretation of the law is set to take effect on July 1, 2025; however, it may be applied in competitions beginning before that date. Notably, the FIFA Club World Cup is scheduled to be held in the United States from June 14 to July 13, 2025.