Football law on penalty kicks updated after Champions League incident helped oust Atletico
by Naharnet Newsdesk 03 June 2025, 16:17
The laws of football on taking a penalty kick were clarified on Tuesday after Julián Álvarez's accidental double touch helped to eliminate Atletico Madrid from the Champions League.
The update published by FIFA-backed rules panel IFAB means the kind of penalty Átletico forward Álvarez had disallowed after scoring in a shootout against Real Madrid in March should now be retaken.
Álvarez slipped and kicked the ball against his standing left foot in the shootout in the Champions League round of 16.
After the looping ball beat Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois for an apparent score, the goal was ruled out by a video review and Atletico ultimately lost the shootout.
The laws of football relating to the penalty kick and penalty shootout were seen as correctly applied in Madrid in March though too vaguely worded. The incident was widely judged to have been unfair as Álvarez did not deliberately slip and take the double touch to gain an advantage.
"This situation is rare, and as it is not directly covered in Law 14, referees have understandably tended to penalize the kicker," IFAB said in a statement. "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 clarified in a circular letter to football stakeholders that a penalty kick which is scored now after an accidental double touch should be retaken.
A double-touch penalty that is not scored will not be retaken. In a shootout, such a penalty "is recorded as missed," IFAB said, and during regulation time or extra time a free kick can be awarded to the defending team.
The clarified rule will apply at the Club World Cup which starts on June 14 in the United States. The 32-team lineup includes Atletico.
IFAB is comprised of FIFA plus the four British football federations. Rules can be changed with six of the eight votes which are distributed by four to FIFA and one each to the British.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
MTV Lebanon
8 hours ago
- MTV Lebanon
Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong faces second charge under national security law
Hong Kong authorities once again arrested prominent activist Joshua Wong on Friday and charged him with conspiracy to collude with a foreign country under a Beijing-imposed national security law. Wong, 28, was originally set to be released in January 2027 from a 56-month jail sentence he is serving under the same law for conspiracy to commit subversion after he participated in an unofficial primary election. Taken to the West Kowloon magistrates' courts, Wong faced a new charge of conspiracy to collude with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security. The former student pro-democracy activist, who wore a blue shirt and appeared noticeably thinner than before, replied, "Understand," when the clerk read out the charge and details of the offence. Wong did not apply for bail, and the case was adjourned to August 8. Before returning to custody, he waved, shrugged, and shook his head in the direction of the public gallery. In a statement, Hong Kong's national security police said they had arrested a 28-year-old man on suspicion of the offence, as well as for "dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence". A charge sheet seen by Reuters accuses Wong of having conspired with exiled activist Nathan Law and others to ask foreign countries, institutions, organizations, or individuals outside China to impose sanctions or blockades. Such actions against Hong Kong or China, along with other hostile activities targeting them, took place in 2020, between July 1 and November 23, it added. The National Security Law, which punishes offences such as acts of subversion, collusion with foreign forces, and terrorism, with terms of up to life in jail, was imposed by Beijing on the former British colony in 2020. The Chinese and Hong Kong governments say the law is necessary to restore stability following anti-government protests in 2019.
Cedar News
9 hours ago
- Cedar News
Alan Dershowitz Urges President Trump to Pardon Ghislaine Maxwell
NEW YORK — Former lawyer for Jeffrey Epstein and President Donald Trump, Alan Dershowitz, has publicly urged President Trump to grant a pardon to Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite currently facing charges related to Epstein's criminal activities, according to the Daily Mail. Dershowitz, who has represented high-profile clients and was previously involved in Epstein's legal matters, argues that Maxwell deserves clemency and that a presidential pardon could be justified. This plea has sparked significant public and media debate given the high-profile nature of the case. Maxwell is accused of aiding Epstein in the alleged trafficking and abuse of minors. The legal proceedings against her have drawn international attention, making any discussion about a pardon highly controversial. The Trump administration has not yet commented on Dershowitz's request, and it remains unclear whether the president will consider such a pardon.
Nahar Net
12 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Israel warns of more Lebanon strikes if Hezbollah not disarmed
by Naharnet Newsdesk 6 hours Israel warned Friday that it will keep striking Lebanon until Hezbollah has been disarmed, hours after it hit Beirut's southern subrubs in what Lebanese leaders called a major violation of the November ceasefire. An Israeli military evacuation call issued ahead of Thursday's strikes sent huge numbers of residents of the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, long a bastion of Iran-backed Hezbollah, fleeing for their lives. The attack on what the Israeli military said was Hezbollah underground drone factories came on the eve of Eid al-Adha, one of the main religious festivals of the Muslim calendar. The strikes came around an hour after Israel's military spokesman issued an evacuation call, and sent plumes of smoke billowing over Beirut. The attack came six months after a ceasefire agreement was sealed in a bid to end hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. "There will be no calm in Beirut, and no order or stability in Lebanon, without security for the State of Israel," Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. "Agreements must be honored and if you do not do what is required, we will continue to act, and with great force," he threatened. Under the ceasefire brokered by the United States and France, Lebanon committed to disarming Hezbollah, which was once reputed to be more heavily armed than the state itself. The hostilities started when Hezbollah launched cross-border attacks on northern Israel in what it described as an act of solidarity with Gaza and the group's Palestinian ally Hamas following its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and the brutal war that followed. The war on Lebanon left Hezbollah massively weakened, with a string of top commanders including its longtime leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah killed and weapons caches dotted around Lebanon incinerated. Israel has carried out repeated strikes on south Lebanon since the truce, but strikes targeting Beirut's southern suburbs have been rare. "Following Hezbollah's extensive use of UAVs as a central component of its terrorist attacks on the State of Israel, the terrorist organization is operating to increase production of UAVs for the next war," the military said, calling the activities "a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon." - Ominous warning - Under the truce, Hezbollah fighters were to withdraw north of the Litani river, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure to its south. Israel was to withdraw all its troops from Lebanon but it has kept some in five areas it deems "strategic". The Lebanese Army has been deploying in the south and removing Hezbollah infrastructure, with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam saying Thursday that it had dismantled "more than 500 military positions and arms depots" in the area. Following the strike on Thursday, Lebanon's leaders accused Israel of a "flagrant" ceasefire violation by launching strikes ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday. President Joseph Aoun voiced "firm condemnation of the Israeli aggression" and "flagrant violation of an international accord... on the eve of a sacred religious festival." The prime minister too issued a statement condemning the strikes as a violation of Lebanese sovereignty. One resident of southern Beirut described grabbing her children and fleeing her home after receiving an ominous warning before the strikes. "I got a phone call from a stranger who said he was from the Israeli army," said the woman, Violette, who declined to give her last name. Israel also issued an evacuation warning for the Lebanese southern village of Ain Qana, around 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the border. The Israeli military then launched a strike on a building there that it alleged was a Hezbollah base, according to Lebanon's official National News Agency.
