It was an odd weekend for referee Darren England.
On Saturday, Farai Hallam, accountable for his first Premier League sport, because the video assistant referee (VAR) and didn’t award a penalty to Manchester Metropolis for handball.
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On Sunday, England’s function was reversed in Chelsea’s . This time he was the referee despatched to the pitchside monitor to resolve on a possible handball spot-kick.
Palace defender Jaydee Canvot had blocked Joao Pedro’s goal-bound shot together with his arm, which was seemingly in a pure place down by his facet.
England watched replays on the display screen for nearly two minutes, and BBC Sport understands he took loads of persuading.
The VAR was Matt Donohue, who has refereed solely 4 top-flight video games however is on obligation at Stockley Park most weekends.
Donohue insisted it needs to be a penalty as a result of the arm had stopped a aim. Finally, England concurred and awarded the spot-kick.
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The Worldwide Soccer Affiliation Board (Ifab) has beforehand clarified that, in this sort of situation, it isn’t mechanically a penalty.
On its , it asks the query: “A participant prevents the ball from going into their very own aim with their hand/arm however doesn’t intentionally deal with the ball and doesn’t make their physique unnaturally larger?”
The reply is: “This isn’t a handball.”
A lot of the confusion surrounds a legislation change in 2024. Ifab modified the wording on denying an apparent goalscoring alternative (Dogso).
It now reads: “The place a participant denies the opposing workforce a aim or an apparent goalscoring alternative by committing a non-deliberate handball offence and the referee awards a penalty kick, the offender is cautioned.”
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And right here is the important thing level. It needs to be an “offence” – in different phrases making the physique unnaturally larger.
It has incorrectly been interpreted that each one handballs which cease a aim are a penalty and a yellow card. The change to the legislation was solely from purple card to yellow card.
First it needs to be a handball offence, and then you definately think about the deserves of Dogso.
The replace was made to deliver handball offences into line with foul challenges and double jeopardy.
So a real try to play the ball or non-deliberate handball the place the physique is made larger are a warning.
Chelsea scored their third aim from the penalty spot after Jaydee Canvot was penalised for handball [Getty Images]
It’s true there may be much less flexibility about arm place when the ball goes in direction of aim.
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Take the handball declare towards Wolves defender Yerson Mosquera in his facet’s at Manchester Metropolis.
Whereas Hallam turned the evaluate down, it might be extra prone to be given if the defender had been on the goalline as a result of his arm was away from his physique.
This was not the case with Canvot. The Palace participant had his arm by his facet and the ball deflected up off his hip.
This is able to not be thought of a handball offence anyplace else. It appears seemingly the Premier League’s Key Match Incidents (KMI) panel might choose this as a mistake.
It doesn’t make logical sense that there needs to be a unique end result if Canvot had been stood three yards to his proper, not in entrance of the aim. Or if there was a team-mate or the goalkeeper behind him.
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“It isn’t that troublesome,” Danny Murphy stated on Match of the Day. “Canvot’s arm is just not in an unnatural place, it is proper beside him.
“It is a straightforward resolution, I do not actually know why VAR have even bought concerned, and so they’ve ended up making the mistaken resolution.
“Whether or not they’re confused by way of the legislation, I do not know, however they’ve made a mistake.”
Former Premier League official , telling BBC Sport: “No penalty for my part as Canvot neither intentionally dealt with the ball or had his arm in an unnatural place.”
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Wayne Rooney added that “everybody’s getting fed up” with VAR errors.
In November, Newcastle’s Harvey Barnes was defending a nook and stood on the goalline. The supply curled into the aim space and hit Barnes on the arm, which was alongside his physique.
There was no VAR intervention for a penalty, which the KMI panel supported 5-0.
It’s the second time this season Palace have suffered from a questionable VAR intervention towards Chelsea.
In August, Eberechi Eze had a aim disallowed after the VAR dominated on a free-kick. It’s the solely time a aim has been dominated out for this within the Premier League.
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Why Maguire didn’t concede penalty at Arsenal
Arsenal have been trailing Manchester United 2-1 within the 71st minute at Emirates Stadium when the hosts had a declare for a handball penalty towards Harry Maguire.
There’s an exemption towards handball when a participant is putting his arm to the ground to help the physique.
That is the case even when the arm is just not grounded and lands on high of the ball.
Maguire was already falling together with his arm out earlier than Mikel Merino launched the shot that struck the England centre-half’s hand.
It isn’t an absolute defence, nonetheless. A defender may very well be judged to have intentionally put their arm into the trail of a shot.
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Twice gamers have wrongly escaped making a gift of a VAR penalty in these circumstances.
Tomas Soucek did so for West Ham towards Chelsea in February 2023, whereas Martin Odegaard ought to have conceded a spot-kick for Arsenal at Liverpool in December 2023.
Each gamers made a deliberate motion to cease or knock the ball – however that was not the case with Maguire.