Kylian Mbappé missed a 94th-minute penalty against Real Betis, and the referee's refusal to order a retake lit the fuse. The row centred on Marc Bartra: had the Andalusian side's defender crept into the box before the kick?
Real Madrid tasted their first La Liga defeat of the season on Friday evening, beaten 1-0 away at Real Betis in the fourth round.
Referee José María Sánchez Martínez went to the video assistant referee and came close to ordering a retake. In the end, he waved play on.
The Spanish referees' committee later explained the call, and under the International Football Association Board "IFAB" laws adopted for the 2026-2027 season, the decision followed the letter of the law.
What is the early encroachment offence?
Early encroachment, known as "Encroachment", happens when a player other than the penalty taker and the goalkeeper enters the penalty area or its arc before the kick is taken, or moves ahead of the ball.
Stepping into the area does not automatically bring a call, though. The player must have directly affected the taking of the kick or gone on to take part in the continuation of play.
Where a defender is the culprit, the offence stands if his advance clearly affects the penalty taker, or he plays or challenges for the ball after it rebounds, thereby preventing a goal, an attempted shot or the creation of a chance.
An attacking player draws the offence when his position clearly affects the goalkeeper, or he joins the play after the ball rebounds and then scores, attempts to score or creates a goalscoring opportunity.
How is a player's entry into the area determined?
Judging whether a player is inside the penalty area at the moment the kick is taken comes down to the position of his feet, or any part of his body touching the ground, when the ball is struck.
The offence is called if one or both feet are inside the penalty area or on the line marking it, including the penalty area arc.
Parts of the body in the air do not count, nor does their vertical projection onto the pitch. There is one exception: when the entire body is off the ground.
As the rule adopted for the 2026-2027 season puts it, "the vertical projection in the air applies only when the whole body is not touching the ground".
That was the decisive factor. One of Bartra's feet was touching the ground outside the penalty area the instant Mbappé struck the penalty, so the Real Betis defender's position did not count as an offence requiring a retake, in line with the interpretation set out in the Laws of the Game.
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