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New handball rule and VAR cause penalty stir

VAR was meant to come into our game to help with “clear and obvious” decisions; the only obvious thing happening is that it is clearly proving to be a nuisance.

In the 25 Premier League games played up until Sunday 27th September we’ve had 21 spot-kicks awarded. Penalties are being handed out faster than Oprah dishes out cars. Seven of those penalties came during Saturday and Sunday’s eight games. Quite frankly it’s all gone a little mad. Here we’ll review four decisions, with one of the penalties given long after the final whistle had blown.

For the first time in football, it seems journalists, fans, players, and managers are all united in the opinion that the laws surrounding handballs must change.

The letter of the law

The close season saw tweaks made to the handball rule, with a player now being penalized for handball if:

  1. The hand/arm is clearly away from the body and outside the “body line”.
  2. The player clearly leans into the path of the ball.
  3. The ball travels some distance.
  4. The ball touches a hand/arm that is clearly raised above the shoulder.
  5. The player falls and the hand/arm is extended laterally or vertically away from the body.
  6. A deflection clearly makes no difference to the ball touching a hand/arm that is clearly extended away from the body and/or above the shoulder
    (Source: BBC)

That’s the law, which seems to apply to some decisions and is totally ignored in others. We’ll discuss four incidents over the weekend and you can make your own mind up.
Incident 1: Brighton v Manchester United – 100th minute

This was something special. Brighton scored a 95th-minute equalizer to make it 2-2 and Manchester United went on to get a 97th-minute corner. It’s crossed towards Maguire, whose header is cleared off the line and the final whistle is blown.

Final score: Brighton 2-2 Manchester United.

Manchester United players then surround the ref and the game is forced into another VAR review.

The slow-motion replays show the ball brushing Neal Maupay’s arm. Penalty given, penalty scored.

New final score: Brighton 2-3 Manchester United.

Why was this a penalty?

Replays show the above criteria being met and so yes, a penalty was given. His arm was raised in an unnatural position outside the body line, and he does move his body and arm towards the ball, diverting its course. Neal Maupay went from hero to zero after his Panenka style penalty and cry-baby celebration. He must love VAR!
Incident 2: West Brom v Chelsea –
West Brom v Chelsea was box office stuff. The Baggies raced to a 3-0 lead at half time and it was up to Chelsea to pull them back in the second half.

They get two, and in the 93rd minute Callum Hudson-Odoi floated a ball in the box towards Kai Havertz. He controls it, finds Mason Mount, who forces a parry from Sam Johnston and Tammy Abraham nets an easy tap in.

It’s 3-3 but look closely at Havertz’s ball control. It’s not come off his chest, but off his arm. His hand is down, the ball hits him below the shoulder and he gains an advantage.

The referee critically does not spot that, and since Havertz passed to Mount who then shot, a new phase of play was entered. That means the referee can not use VAR to look back at the previous phase of play to investigate the handball.

Confused? Us too! It’s a clear handball, not spotted by the referee, and VAR can’t get involved as the phase of play passed. Case closed. 3-3.

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Incident 3: Tottenham v Newcastle United – 97th minute

Spurs dominated the game, but yet dropped points once again after the ref consulted the VAR late on.

Jonjo Shelvey lobs a ball into the box, a leaping Andy Carroll heads downwards as Eric Dier jumps with him. The ball hits Dier’s outstretched arm. Appeal. Review. Penalty given. Penalty scored.

In mid-flight, Dier has no control of his arm which does raise. He’s not even looking at the ball. It is not deliberate, but the ball hits it and changes path.

Jamie Carragher cited that the lack of control means a penalty should not have been given. Steve Bruce, Newcastle United manager, shared the sentiment, and judging by his abrupt exit from the pitch, Mourinho did too. Should a penalty be given if it’s not deliberate? Did the defender have full control over the situation? No, and no.

Looking at the above rules, numbers 1 and 4 give the referee no choice. But is the law being applied too literally, or should players keep their arms down, therefore stunting their leap? How should a defender jump these days? We do see some players hold their hands behind their backs, but that gives the attacking player a huge advantage.

What’s your view? Would you give a penalty in this situation?

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Incident 4: Everton v Crystal Palace – 37th minute

A weak downward header from Lucas Digne hits Joe Ward’s downward-pointing hand. Slow motions show that the header is harmless and if it did reach the intended Everton target, he would have been flagged offside anyway.

The ball travels fast and it looks to be a ball-to-hand incident. Ward is actually trying to get his hand back into a natural position.

Despite that, the penalty is given, the penalty is scored and Palace go on to lose the game. Cue another Roy Hodgson rant.

The examples above show different inconsistencies within one weekend, and we’re all left scratching our heads. Referees are correct to consult the video replays, but the fear is that they are relying on them too much. By using VAR they are suspending themselves from the decision, and therefore escaping blame for when an error is made. When you use a slow-motion replay the handball always looks more dramatic and this can lead the referee to make a decision when in real-time no decision was made. In the cases above we have seen no decision from the referee until VAR was consulted. Perhaps the referee could stick to his gut feeling more, or we should change the handball rule to make it more realistic and go back to the days of deliberate v unintentional action. That would scrap all of the above and raise more questions too. The never ending debate continues…

Talking about penalties: Leicester City became the first-ever team in Premier League history to score three penalties in a game. They scored three spot-kicks in their 5-2 rout over Manchester City.

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