The conclusion of Wednesday’s Madrid derby in the Champions League had the attention of the football world and referee Szymon Marciniak was the man at the centre of it all.
Real Madrid beat city rivals Atletico Madrid on penalties to book their place in the Champions League quarter-finals and Atletico forward Julian Alvarez’s penalty proved crucial.
Alvarez scored from the spot but the VAR review revealed that he touched the ball with his standing left foot as he slipped before striking it with his right.
Referee Marciniak takes responsibility for big decision
The aftermath rolls on. Atletico contacted UEFA and the European governing body confirmed on Thursday that it will consult with FIFA and IFAB to discuss whether an accidental double touch should be declared a miss.
But one aspect of the debate has been roundly denied by Marciniak, who insisted that he spotted Alvarez’s first touch and informed the VAR without the intervention of Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe, who is ranked at no. 5 in FourFourTwo’s list of the best players in the world right now.
Footage from the Metropolitano appears to show Mbappe and his Real Madrid team-mates indicating to Marciniak that Alvarez had taken two touches as he scored his penalty.
Marciniak was seemingly already in conversation with the VAR and has denied any suggestion that Real Madrid players influenced the review.
“I was the one who informed the VAR referees that there was a 99% chance that Alvarez touched the ball twice and they checked it thoroughly,” said Marciniak in comments reported by AS.
“It is absolutely false that Mbappe told me anything about the two touches.”
The VAR reviews every penalty kick for technical infringements by both the penalty taker and the goalkeeper.
Mbappe’s input is therefore immaterial in any case, and while Marciniak has confirmed that he mentioned to the VAR that he believed Alvarez had touched the ball twice, it would have been checked regardless.
Marciniak and Mbappe have experienced a penalty shoot-out together before.
The Polish referee was in charge of the World Cup final in 2022, when Mbappe scored a hat-trick for France – two of his three goals were penalties – before scoring his third spot kick of the night as Argentina defeated Les Bleus in a tense tie-breaker in Qatar.
Mbappe and Real Madrid will take on Premier League side Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals in April. The first leg will be played at the Emirates Stadium.
