Fulham exits pre-season match as Malaga scores empty-net penalty

Fulham and Malaga concluded their pre-season friendly in a bizarre fashion when the English side departed the field after the referee blew for full-time. The match had been level at 2-2 after Eneko Jauregi scored from the spot after Calvin Bassey was penalised for a handball. Alvaro Arbeloa, the former Real Madrid coach now managing Fulham, was shown a red card for protesting the decision and headed straight down the tunnel with his players, believing the game was finished.

Malaga, however, expected a penalty shoot-out to decide the Costa del Sol Trophy and stayed on the pitch, where Jauregi placed the ball on the spot and scored into an empty net before celebrating with teammates. Fulham later confirmed that both sides had agreed prior to the match that a draw would not be followed by a shoot-out, while Malaga’s club statement claimed the opposite. Fulham will finish its pre-season against Stuttgart before opening the Premier League season against Chelsea on 24 August.