It was a Champions League tie for the ages. The rivalry between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid is more than just geographical: these city neighbours have financial and socio-cultural differences that pit the haves of the Galacticos against the have not’s of the bulldog spirit Atleti.
Real claimed a 2-1 victory in the first leg at the Bernabeu, before Conor Gallagher’s first minute goal in the second put the contest on a knife edge. There were no further goals in a fraught battle at the Estadio Metropolitano, and so the game went first to extra time and then to the dreaded penalty shootout. Sadly, it was here that fate would intervene, costing Atletico a chance of victory and leaving Julian Alvarez with a unique – but unwanted – slice of football history…
What Is a Double Kick Penalty?
The shootout was poised at 2-1 to Real as Alvarez strode forward to take his shot for the underdogs. He stepped up to the penalty spot, slipped but made a strong enough contact to send the ball careering into the top corner of the net – 2-2, most onlookers thought.
VAR intervened, leaving many scratching their heads. It soon became clear that video officials were looking at the contact that Alvarez made with the ball as he slipped – specifically, whether or not he had touched the ball with his standing foot before connecting with his right.
A closer look at THAT penalty from Julián Alvarez 😱 pic.twitter.com/HdyUQ0TeOE
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 13, 2025
In their opinion, the former Manchester City forward did accidentally deliver a ‘double kick’ before the ball was set on its course, which is against the rules. And so, after a lengthy VAR check, his penalty was disallowed. And after such a hammer blow, it was no surprise that Real went on to win the shootout by a margin of 4-2.
Unsurprisingly, Atletico head coach, Diego Simeone, was rather angry afterwards, particularly as, even on slowed down replays, the double kick is imperceptible. He said,
Did you see him touching the ball twice? Please whoever was present in the stadium and saw him touching the ball twice, the ball moving, please come forward and raise your hand. I don’t see anybody with their hand raised so that’s all I have to say… next question.
In reply, Real Madrid goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, told UEFA journalists:
I felt that there was something weird going on, so we said it straight to the referee and then it was confirmed that there was a double touch and it didn’t count.
[Alvarez] slipped and he touched the ball twice and that is a missed penalty. You cannot touch the ball twice. That’s bad luck but it’s the rules.
What Are the Rules on Double Kick Penalties?
Thibaut’s right: you’re not allowed to make a double contact with the ball when striking a penalty. As per Article 14.1 of the International Football Association Board’s rulebook, which governs the beautiful game, it’s stated that ‘… the kicker must not play the ball again until it has touched another player.’
If you think about it, without this rule penalty kicks would be anarchy. A player could effectively tap the ball to themselves, before dribbling forward and having a close range tap in past a goalkeeper that wouldn’t be able to do much to prevent them from scoring.
It’s a rule that has also seen some penalty takers occasionally eschew a kick at goal and pass the ball (forwards) to a teammate – although as Robert Pires and Thierry Henry once proved, even that tactic is fraught with risk. Did you know that if a penalty taker hits the woodwork with their shot, before tapping in the rebound, the goal would be disallowed. Why? Because this would again be a double kick, as no other player would have touched the ball before the taker’s second contact.
Who Has Taken a Double Touch Penalty?
If it’s any crumb of comfort to him, Julian Alvarez isn’t the first player to have come a-cropper courtesy of a double kick penalty. Another former Manchester City player, Riyad Mahrez, was ‘guilty’ of the double kick when striking a penalty for his former side Leicester City – ironically in a game against Pep Guardiola’s men back in May 2017.
Like Alvarez, Mahrez’s standing foot gave way as he stepped up to the spot and briefly contacted the ball, before his stronger left foot swept through and took the shot. The ball hit the back of the net, but the goal was ruled out. Guardiola commented,
It is not normal to see it but it is what it is. The shot was strange, but the rule is clear. Two touches, the same as golf.
Former Fulham frontman, Aleksandar Mitrovic, was also struck down by the curse of the double kick penalty in January 2023. He also slipped while playing for the Cottagers against Newcastle United, with his momentum forcing him to accidentally kick the ball onto his standing foot. The ball, somehow, still ended up in the back of the Newcastle net, but in accordance with the rules the goal was disallowed.
One of the curious things about this double touch rule is that some goals have stood, despite suggestions that the taker contacted the ball twice before sending it on its way into the back of the net. One such strike by Aberdeen’s Bojan Miovski against St Mirren was allowed to stand, despite replays suggesting that he had touched the ball twice. There was a lengthy delay as VAR checked the contact, but in the end the goal stood.
However, a few months later, a VAR Independent Review Panel (IRP) determined that the goal should not have been given. And who can forget the 2004 League Cup final, when Bolo Zenden scored the clearest double touch penalty of them all… only for the referee, Mike Reed, to miss the double contact and hand the trophy to Middlesbrough.
