Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has claimed he "sensed" that Julian Alvarez touched the ball twice before the Atletico Madrid player saw his penalty disallowed in a controversial shoot-out.
Alvarez's penalty was ruled out for a rarely seen "double touch" in a hugely contentious moment in the Champions League last-16 clash between the Madrid rivals, with holders Real progressing.
Alvarez slipped before making contact, with his effort going high into the roof of the net, but the VAR ruled that he had touched the ball with his left foot before striking it goalwards with his right.
Alvarez slipped as he struck the ball with his standing leg ruled to have also made contact (Getty Images)
Real Madrid won the shoot-out 4-2 after Marcos Llorente hit the bar and Antonio Rudiger squeezed the winning effort past Jan Oblak and off the post to set up a quarter-final clash with Arsenal .
And while debate raged over whether Alvarez had touched the ball twice, with the initial replays broadcast around the world far from conclusive, Courtois said he knew that there had been a fault.
"I sense that (Alvarez) touched the ball twice and I told the referee," Courtois told Spanish TV Movistar Plus.
"It's not easy to see and it's bad luck for them. We didn't play our best game but we got through and that's the important thing."
Atletico's players and manager Diego Simeone were furious that Alvarez's penalty was disallowed and the head coach said he wanted "to believe that if the VAR intervened it's because it saw something".
Simeone gestures to the Atletico fans after defeat (AP)
"I've never seen the VAR called to review a penalty in a shootout... Never!" Simeone, who said he had yet to see an image that conclusively showed that Alvarez touched the ball twice, told a press conference.
"Did you see him touching the ball twice? Please whoever was present in the stadium and saw him touching the ball twice, the ball moving, please come forward and raise your hand!
"I don't see anybody with their hand raised so that's all I have to say... next question."
Real Madrid have beaten rivals Atletico in five consecutive Champions League meetings , including the 2014 and 2016 finals, a semi-final, a quarter-final, and now a last-16 clash.
This one went to penalties after Conor Gallagher 's goal inside the opening minute at the Metropolitano cancelled out Real Madrid's 2-1 win at the Bernabeu last week.
"It hurts," said Atletico goalkeeper Oblak said. "We played a great match but unfortunately we were a bit unlucky. It's a shame. It hurts a lot."
