Ashley Barnes handball: Should Manchester City have been awarded a penalty?

Manchester City were denied a clear penalty at a goalless scoreline at Burnley, during their Premier League fixture on Sunday.

Liverpool fans, currently locked in a title race with the Manchester club, will have been delighted to see Ashley Barnes’ forearm ricochet David Silva’s shot in the area, and go unpunished for a clear breach of the rules.

An earlier shout for handball had occurred in the match, when the ball struck Vincent Kompany squarely in the forehead and the home crowd appealed to the referee as one. That, correctly, was overlooked. The Barnes decision was too, however the later appeal had a few more question marks over it.

The incident

Fast start from City…#MCFC on the front foot at the start of the second half with two chances in the space of a minute.

Watch live now on Sky Sports PL: https://t.co/iuvyCUWbEF pic.twitter.com/UeONrDsMPX

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 28, 2019

During a period of play in which Manchester City were letting off a lot of shots in and around the Burnley box, David Silva had a strike. Ashley Barnes, stood between Silva and the goal, extended an arm and stopped the ball.

The Manchester City players appealed to referee Paul Tierney, but no penalty was given.

What the rules say

The rules on handling the ball are as follows:

Handling the ball involves a deliberate act of a player making contact with the ball with the hand or arm.

The following must be considered:

the movement of the hand towards the ball (not the ball towards the hand)

the distance between the opponent and the ball (unexpected ball)

the position of the hand does not necessarily mean that there is an offence

touching the ball with an object held in the hand (clothing, shinguard, etc.) is an offence

hitting the ball with a thrown object (boot, shinguard, etc.) is an offence

When considering these laws of the game, it seems clear that Ashley Barnes deliberately moved his hand to block the path of the ball, and as such a penalty should have been awarded.

Reaction

Sky Sports commentators noted that David Silva appealed to referee Paul Tierney immediately, adamant that Barnes had handled the ball.

Shortly afterwards, replay showed the Spanish midfielder was right to be aggrieved, as pundits similarly remarked online.

Looked a penalty in normal time. Looked a penalty in slow motion.
Looked a penalty all day long.

— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) April 28, 2019

Pat Nevin on 5live speaking about the Barnes penalty incident where the Clarets man escaped handball appeals: "It 100% should have been a penalty.
"Not even a question mark.
"He deliberately put his hand out to stop the ball. City will be absolutely furious."

— Alex James (@alexjameshack) April 28, 2019

Finally seen replay of the Barnes handball – clear penalty denied to #MCFC

— Stuart Brennan (@StuBrennanMEN) April 28, 2019

A few minutes later, Manchester City scored through a Sergio Aguero strike, taking the lead. However, the handball incident could have been a huge oversight and injustice in their title campaign, had the match ended a draw.

At the time of publication, Manchester City lead 0-1 through that goal, while Burnley had not managed a single shot on target.