Fulham walk off as Malaga scores penalty into empty net in Costa del Sol Trophy farce

Match summary

Fulham's pre-season friendly against Malaga for the Costa del Sol Trophy descended into controversy on Wednesday at Estadio La Rosaleda in southern Spain. The match, described by Spanish media as calm and free of violent incidents, ended 2-2 after Malaga equalized with a penalty in the final minutes of normal time, awarded for a handball by Fulham defender Calvin Bassey. Striker Eneko Jauregi converted from the spot to cancel out goals from Sessegnon and Iwobi, who had each put the visitors ahead during the match.

Sessegnon headed Fulham in front in the 24th minute, but Chupete leveled for Malaga just four minutes later. Fulham regained the lead through Iwobi in the second half, and the match appeared headed for a Fulham victory before Jauregi's late penalty, awarded after Bassey's handball, brought the score to 2-2. ESPN also registered the match result as 2-2.

The walk-off

After the final whistle, Fulham coach Álvaro Arbeloa approached referee Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias to protest and was immediately shown a red card. The exact words Arbeloa used to the referee are not known. Fulham's players then left the pitch and headed to the dressing rooms, believing the match was over. Malaga remained on the field expecting a penalty shootout to decide the trophy winner.

With no goalkeeper and no opponents on the pitch, Jauregi placed the ball on the penalty spot and converted into an empty net before celebrating with teammates in front of the home support at La Rosaleda. Malaga declared themselves champions of the 2026 edition of the Costa del Sol Trophy, also referred to as the Trofeo Costa del Sol Cervezas Victoria.

Conflicting accounts

The two clubs offered directly contradictory explanations for what was agreed before the match. Fulham stated on 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." Malaga's post-match report on their website read: "Although a penalty shootout had been scheduled, Fulham left the pitch, claiming that a shootout had not been included in the contract."

Additional reporting from English and French media added further context. GOAL's UK edition described the situation as Fulham having "forfeited their pre-season penalty shootout," citing contractual terms and flight schedules. Ouest France reported that Fulham explained a shootout could have caused the team to miss their flight back to England, a justification the French outlet called unconvincing. The Sun labeled the scene "farcical confusion." The story also reached Brazil, where UOL highlighted the extraordinary image of a Malaga player taking a penalty virtually alone.

What's next

Fulham conclude their pre-season preparations against Stuttgart on Saturday, 15 August. Their first match of the 2026-27 Premier League season is against Chelsea at Craven Cottage the following weekend. Arbeloa, who coached Real Madrid last season, is in his first pre-season as Fulham manager.