Atletico Madrid President Warns of Potential Action Over Disputed Penalty

Several days after the controversial penalty decision in the Champions League match between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, Atletico president Enrique Cerezo has spoken to various media outlets. He aimed to send a message to Atletico fans and issue a clear warning: the club may take action over the incident.

Real Madrid advanced to the Champions League quarter-finals after defeating Atletico Madrid in a penalty shootout. During the shootout, Atletico had a goal by Julian Alvarez disallowed after VAR ruled he had touched the ball twice. Despite UEFA officially closing the matter by demonstrating the goal’s invalidity, the incident continues to generate discussion.

Cerezo sought to reassure fans, stating: “They should remain calm. We have a fantastic team. We’re no longer dwelling on Wednesday’s events, except for any actions we may need to take. Our focus is now on Sunday’s important league match against Barcelona at our stadium.”

The Atletico president also took the opportunity to criticize VAR: “Until Wednesday evening, we were ready to compete for three trophies. That night, an issue with a terrifying tool that only serves to harm teams – VAR – crushed one of our greatest aspirations of continuing in the Champions League.”

Cerezo made his stance on video technology clear: “I’ve never liked VAR. I’m not criticizing it just because of the recent error, which was VAR’s mistake, not the referee’s. I don’t know how they saw the ball touch Julian’s leg twice. It’s a problematic tool that isn’t reliable. We all thought VAR was introduced to make football fairer, but I believe it’s made it more unfair, causing more problems and criticism towards referees and VAR itself.”

It remains to be seen whether Atletico Madrid will follow through on Cerezo’s warnings and take legal action regarding Julian Alvarez’s disallowed penalty.