Fulham walk off pitch as Malaga score penalty into empty net
Fulham's pre-season friendly ended in chaos as players headed down the tunnel, leaving Malaga to take a penalty alone.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Fulham's pre-season friendly against Malaga ended in a 2-2 draw.
- Malaga equalised in the final minute of normal time via a penalty from Eneko Jauregi.
- Fulham left the pitch believing the match was over, while Malaga expected a shootout.
Fulham's pre-season friendly fixture against Malaga concluded in bizarre circumstances on Wednesday, with the Premier League side walking down the tunnel and leaving their Spanish opponents to score a penalty into an unguarded net.
The dramatic sequence unfolded in the final minute of normal time when Fulham defender Calvin Bassey conceded a penalty for a handball, allowing Eneko Jauregi to convert from the spot and level the score at 2-2.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
However, that proved to be only the beginning of the confusion. Former Real Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa was shown a red card after seemingly remonstrating with the referee at full-time. Arbeloa marched straight down the tunnel accompanied by the rest of his squad, who firmly believed that the match had reached its conclusion.
Misunderstandings over post-match procedures in pre-season friendlies occasionally happen due to specific tournament stipulations. Exhibition matches tied to minor trophies, such as the Costa del Sol Trophy, sometimes feature pre-arranged tie-breaker rules like penalty shootouts to entertain the crowd without playing extra time, leading to friction if communication between teams breaks down.
Conversely, La Liga outfit Malaga were fully expecting a penalty shootout to follow and remained positioned on the pitch to determine the winner of the Costa del Sol Trophy.
With supporters waiting in anticipation for the shootout, striker Eneko Jauregi placed the ball on the spot and stroked it into an empty net, celebrating alongside his team-mates in front of the home crowd at Malaga's Estadio La Rosaleda ground in southern Spain.
Despite the unusual scenes, Fulham maintained that both clubs had mutually agreed beforehand that a draw would not result in a penalty shootout.
"We can confirm that prior to the match, both teams agreed that there would not be a penalty shootout in the event of a draw."
Fulham (via X)
Fulham are scheduled to wrap up their pre-season preparations with a match against Stuttgart on Saturday. Their opening fixture of the 2026-27 Premier League campaign will see them face Chelsea at Craven Cottage at 20:00 BST on Monday, 24 August.
Source: BBC Sport
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