Barcelona's Gerard Pique said in a tweet after Spain's defeat to Italy in the Euro 2020 semi-final at Wembley on Tuesday that there is an unfair advantage for a team going first in a penalty shootout.
Italy advanced to the final of Euro 2020 after beating Spain 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw between the teams after extra time.
Despite going first in the shootout, Roberto Mancini's side started on the backfoot when his first penalty taker Manuel Locatelli had his shot saved by Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon. However, Spain's two omissions allowed the Italians to come back and win the game.
Pique, who won the Euros with Spain in 2012, said "it was no coincidence" that the penalty shootouts at both Euro 2020 and the Copa América were won by the team that goes first.
No es casualidad que las cuatro tandas que ha habido tanto en la @EURO2020 como en la @CopaAmerica haya ganado el equipo que primero tira. Las estadÃsticas dicen que el primero tiene más opciones y en un torneo asà no me parece justo que un sorteo haga que empieces con desventaja
"It is no coincidence that the four rounds at Euro 2020 have been as much as the team that shoots first in the Copa América won." Pick said.
"The stats say the former has more options and in a tournament like this it doesn't seem fair to me that a draw can hurt you."
The team that finished first in every penalty shootout at Euro 2020 and Copa America has won. In the Euro round of 16, Switzerland went first and defeated France but then lost to Spain in the quarter-finals when they moved to second place. In the Copa América, Colombia defeated Uruguay in first place on penalties in the quarter-finals.
In the Euro on Tuesday, Italy and Argentina in the Copa America both took first place and won.
However, research has shown that the team that starts the shootout will only win in 60% of the chances.
Previous attempts to change the penalty shootout system have been unsuccessful.