Arbeloa Red Card Triggers Fulham Walkout; Malaga Celebrate Penalty Into Open Net | WATCH

A bizarre sequence of events unfolded during Fulham’s pre-season clash against Malaga as confusion over a penalty shootout led to an extraordinary finish at Estadio La Rosaleda.

The match appeared to be heading towards a penalty shootout after Malaga equalised in the final minute of normal time. However, what followed after the full-time whistle left players, fans and officials stunned.

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Malaga Equalise From The Spot

Malaga levelled the contest at 2-2 after Fulham defender Calvin Bassey was penalised for handball inside the box.

Eneko Jauregi stepped up from the penalty spot and calmly converted to bring the Spanish side level in the closing stages of the game.

With the scores tied, fans inside La Rosaleda expected the winner of the Costa del Sol Trophy to be decided through penalties.

Instead, confusion quickly took over.

Arbeloa Sent Off As Fulham Leave Pitch

Former Real Madrid defender and current Fulham manager Álvaro Arbeloa was shown a red card after appearing to remonstrate with the referee following the final whistle.

Arbeloa then headed towards the tunnel, followed by his Fulham players, who appeared to believe that the match had ended with the 2-2 draw.

However, Malaga remained on the pitch, expecting a penalty shootout to determine the winner.

WATCH: Malaga Score Into Empty Net

With Fulham players already inside the tunnel, Malaga striker Jauregi placed the ball on the penalty spot.

He then converted into an empty net before running towards his teammates to celebrate in front of the home supporters.

The bizarre moment quickly went viral, with footage showing Malaga celebrating while Fulham were nowhere to be seen on the pitch.

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Fulham Clarify Penalty Shootout Agreement

Fulham later clarified that there had been an agreement between both clubs before the match that no penalty shootout would take place if the game ended level.

After Fulham’s game with Malaga last night ended in a 2-2 draw last night, the Spanish club wanted to do a penalty shootout, but Fulham said it wasn’t in the contract so left the field.

So a Malaga took a pen into the empty net and they all celebrated 🤣 pic.twitter.com/aFJ6EMxJMm

— Football Away Days (@FBAwayDays) August 13, 2026

“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 wrote on X.

Malaga, however, offered a different account in their post-match report, stating that a penalty shootout had been scheduled but Fulham left the pitch because they believed it was not included in the contract.

Fulham will conclude their pre-season preparations against Stuttgart on Saturday.