Manchester United were denied what appeared to be a sure penalty in their clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge after a bit of ball-juggling between Mason Greenwood and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
In a first half bereft of chances, the biggest talking point came 15 minutes in when Hudson-Odoi and Greenwood battled for possession after Edouard Mendy had punched away a Marcus Rashford free-kick.
The Chelsea winger appeared to touch the ball with his hand as it spun away from Greenwood, who himself saw the ball drop on his arm. The danger was eventually cleared.
The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) check seemed to focus on Hudson-Odoi’s initial infringement and play was eventually paused for referee Stuart Attwell to head over to the pitch-side monitor for a look himself.
But despite replaying the event numerous times on the TV screen, Attwell decided against awarding a penalty. He was spotted speaking to United captain Harry Maguire before restarting play.
In a statement, the Premier League told i: “The VAR asked the referee to look at the incident again, but he stuck to his on-field decision as felt that Hudson-Odoi didn’t move his hand towards the ball.”
VAR has proved contentious since it was introduced to the Premier League for the start of the 2019-20 season. A number of seemingly innocuous handball incidents caused the League to look at the ruling and its 20 member clubs agreed to a change at the start of the season.
“More emphasis will now be put on what a player’s “expected” arm position is when the ball strikes him, and the time they have to react. The “softened approach” will apply from Matchweek 4,” the Premier League said back in October.
Sky Sports co-commentator Gary Neville, noticing the Chelsea player’s concern that a penalty might be given said: “Hudson-Odoi’s panic is the fact that his arm shouldn’t be there.
“There’s no doubt two or three months ago that’s a penalty – and there’s no doubt the referee would have abided by the referral.
“But the referees are more bold and the handball laws are being changed in front of our eyes as the season goes along.”
At half-time, pundit Roy Keane said: “We’ve seen these given before. He does put his hand up towards the ball, there’s no getting away from it. We’ve seen them given. We don’t want to be seeing penalties for this but he does raise his hand.”
And former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink added: “I do think Hudson is a lucky boy. Should it be a penalty? I don’t think so. But just because of what the rules are. His hand is in an unnatural position. We’ve seen them being given this season. You have to be consistent and in a way he’s a lucky boy.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3sFvvkN
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