Fulham Walks Off in Preseason Match Dispute with Malaga Over Penalty Shootout

Fulham’s preseason match against Malaga turned out to be not too friendly when the English club walked off and coach Alvaro Arbeloa was red-carded for complaining to the referees. La Liga host Malaga scored a 90th-minute equaliser to make the score 2-2. Malaga said a penalty shootout was scheduled. Fulham said there wasn’t. Malaga kicked a penalty into an open net and claimed the Costa del Sol trophy on Wednesday.

The scenes were an echo of the Africa Cup of Nations final in January when Senegal walked off the field in protest at the awarding of a penalty to Morocco. In response to the events on the southern coast of Spain, Fulham said on the social media platform, X: “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.” Former Real Madrid coach Arbeloa was sent off for arguing with the officiating crew at the end of the match. Malaga said a penalty shootout was scheduled but “Fulham left the pitch claiming that a shootout had not been included in the contract”. Senegal’s match against hosts Morocco at the 2025 edition of AFCON, which extended into 2026, did eventually resume with the Atlas Lions missing the penalty that had been awarded to them. The Lions of Teranga went on to win a penalty shootout to claim the trophy. The title has since been withdrawn from them by the Confederation of African Football after an appeal by Morocco. Senegal have taken that case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.