Why was Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta allowed to re-take his penalty against Manchester United?

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 30: Jean-Philippe Mateta of Crystal Palace scores his team's first goal from the penalty spot during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Manchester United at Selhurst Park on November 30, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images).

Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta was allowed to re-take his penalty against Manchester United after getting a double touch on his first effort.

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The 28-year-old won the spot-kick after being brought down in the box by Leny Yoro, and duly stepped up to convert the opportunity.

He did so on the first time of asking, but VAR spotted that the Frenchman had struck the ball twice, kicking it with his right foot into his left foot.

Why Jean-Philippe Mateta was allowed to re-take his penalty against Manchester United

Mateta duly converted the second attempt, too (Image credit: Getty Images)

Rather than ruling the goal out and continuing with the game, as happened to Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez in a similar situation against Real Madrid in the Champions League last season, Mateta was given another chance by the officials.

He stepped up again and tapped the ball low into the opposite corner from his first, wrong-footing goalkeeper Senne Lammens for the second time.

Despite a retake call from VAR, Mateta converts from the penalty spot to take Palace ahead 🔥📺 @TNTSports & @DiscoveryPlusUK pic.twitter.com/x8IuhFvt75November 30, 2025

Mateta was allowed to re-take the penalty due to a rule change over the summer, which was brought in as a result of that Alvarez incident.

Previously, Law 14 stated that the kicker must not play the ball again until it has touched another player, but the International Football Board Association (IFAB), who control the game's rules, has now updated it in circumstances like Mateta's.

Where the double touch was clearly unintentional, the taker is now allowed to re-spot the ball and take it again.

That does not apply if they intentionally touch the ball twice, in which case the defending team will be awarded a free-kick.

The change was brought in on 1 July, and was communicated to all relevant parties over the summer.

Mateta and Palace benefitted from a recent rule change (Image credit: Getty Images)

In FourFourTwo's opinion, this is a fair update to the rules.

It feels harsh to penalise a player for a clearly accidental incident, where they are not trying to gain any unfair advantage.

Nevertheless, the defending team, in this case United, may feel slightly aggrieved that Mateta gets to correct a mistake of his own making.