UEFA removes referee's name from Alvarez's goal

UEFA has removed VAR referee Tomasz Kwiatkowski from the next match after he controversially ruled out Julian Alvarez's penalty against Real Madrid.

Polish refereeing duo Szymon Marciniak (referee) and Kwiatkowski (VAR) have worked together since 2022 in many big matches. Mr. Marciniak was still appointed to officiate the match between Tottenham and Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League early on April 11, while Kwiatkowski was not on the list of officials.

In the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid on March 13, Julian Alvarez successfully converted a penalty but the goal was annulled after VAR intervened and determined that the Argentine striker touched the ball twice while shooting. The situation was determined to be due to the slippery surface causing his supporting foot to slip, causing the ball to make contact twice in a row.

The decision was immediately controversial, especially when the camera angle showed that the second touch was extremely light and difficult to detect. UEFA later issued a statement supporting the VAR team's decision, but the removal of Kwiatkowski from the next match raised doubts about whether UEFA truly believed the incident was "clear and correct".

Marca contacted UEFA to clarify the reason for not assigning Kwiatkowski, but the organization only issued a familiar statement: "We do not comment on referee assignment decisions."

However, the dismissal of a VAR official immediately after a sensitive incident is often interpreted as a form of implicit warning. UEFA did not publicly sanction the incident, but noted the controversy of the incident and the resulting "temporary interruption" of Mr Kwiatkowski's work.

Camera angle shows Julian Alvarez touching the ball with both feet. Early morning on March 13, Julian Alvarez was determined to have touched the ball twice when taking the second penalty kick against Real.

Source: https://znews.vn/uefa-gach-ten-trong-tai-tu-choi-ban-thang-cua-alvarez-post1544785.html