Real Madrid made it to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League last night after beating local rivals Atletico Madrid in a controversial penalty shootout.
The events that unfolded after extra-time last night sparked serious controversy among both fanbases and has left the world of football largely polarised.
After all, Julian Alvarez’s penalty being ruled out for a double touch did not generate consensus.
Ceballos adds to the drama
Speaking to the media after the game last night, Los Rojiblancos’ manager Diego Simeone lashed out openly against the referee’s call and asked journalists in the room if they had seen any sign of a double-touch.
The manager wished to imply that Alvarez’s penalty had been wrongfully disallowed after an unexpected VAR intervention as there was no clear evidence.
Dani Ceballos, however, has only added fuel to the fire with his latest social media interaction via X as he responded with an emoticon of a raised arm to a tweet summarising Simeone’s question.
🤚🏼 https://t.co/Y5PWSyW5x1
— Daniel Ceballos (@DaniCeballos46) March 12, 2025
As far as UEFA are concerned, the governing body released a statement earlier today about the incident and how Alvarez had touched the ball twice as per their interpretation of the available video evidence.
“Although minimal, the player made contact with the ball using his standing foot before kicking it, as shown in the attached video clip,”they wrote.
Needless to say, the result is now written in stone and Real Madrid will play the quarter-final against Arsenal without doubt.
The noise around the controversy will naturally die down and Los Blancos can be convinced it was the right decision.