How will penalty shootout rules change? Football authorities respond to Julian Alvarez penalty controversy in Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid clash
By Jonny Bray
Published 03/06/2025 at 17:33 GMT+1
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There has been a big change to the rules surrounding penalty shootouts after a controversial moment during the 2024/2025 edition of the UEFA Champions League. Atletico Madrid fans were left confused after striker Julian Alvarez saw his penalty ruled as a miss during a shootout against arch-rivals Real Madrid in the last 16 of Europe's elite competition.
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Video credit: SNTV
The rules surrounding penalty shootouts were called into question after a controversial moment during the 2024/2025 edition of the UEFA Champions League.
Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez thought he had converted his spot kick after slotting the ball past Thibaut Courtois during a shootout in the last 16 of the tournament.
However, his attempt was dramatically disallowed after he was judged to have touched the ball twice in one strike.
Los Blancos went on to win the shootout 4-2 and progress to the next stage of Europe's elite competition.
The decision left many Atletico fans infuriated and many neutrals confused. However, action has now been taken, and the rules have been changed.
How will the penalty shootout rules change?
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) have responded after UEFA called for a law change following the controversial moment last March.
IFAB has now clarified Law 14, which relates to double touches during penalties.
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A closer look at Alvarez's disallowed penalty
Video credit: TNT Sports
The rule was originally introduced to prevent a player from touching the ball twice to gain an advantage during a penalty.
However, it did not specify what should be done if a player touches the ball twice by mistake.
Following IFAB's intervention, a 'double-touch penalty' would be retaken rather than disallowed, but only if the original spot kick is successfully converted.
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If the player misses the penalty after touching the ball twice during a match, then the opposition will be awarded an indirect free-kick.
If it is missed during a shootout, though, it will simply be recorded as a miss.
The rule is set to come into place from July 1.
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