Simply the defender jumped to block a cross with his head turned away from the ball and arms out in front of him. Intended or not it's a pen all day, some would give it some wouldn't but according to the rule book it's a pen
Yep. If your arms are by your side or the ball would have hit your body anyway then it's fine. All other instances are a penalty.
Pleased with that. Solid, if not spectacular - a couple of guys making their returns from injury as well. Other results have really gone our way too so it was important we picked up 3 points. On to the next game...
Only saw the second half, what did Can do in the first half to have you all dripping? All I saw in the second was Milner coming from behind him to make tackles and interceptions (about 3 times) while he just stood and watched.
Not a lot to say about that game....turgid stuff but great 3 points. A couple of decent performances from Can and Moreno (and Ming had little to do). Swansea worked very hard and we had little answer. Penalty was tough on them but was a stupid thing for the defender to do turning his back like that. Overall, after a Thursday game and in conditions like that I'll take the three points and on we go #galeforce #windinoursails
I have never read the rules but always thought handball was defined as hand to ball (hence the name) not ball to hand. Given that the defender was less than 3 yards away and the ball deflected off his leg onto his hand it was a very harsh call by a weak ref.
You thought wrong then. Its about whether or not your hands are in an unnatural position (away from your body, making yourself bigger). He was, and he stopped a cross that could've lead to a goal so its a clear penalty.
Maybe best not to bother commenting until you have then Harsh call? Perhaps, but still a correct one (plus the linesman gave it, not the "weak" referee). Not particularly epic but still a #fail
It was going into the 6 yard box, I'm not sure what game you were watching. The ball was going for a corner AFTER it his arm.
Haven't seen it, need to watch MOTD, so will probs have to sit through Arsenal and Chelsea to get there
Do you think it would be acceptable for players to stand in a star like way (ie make themselves big like keepers do so long as its before the opponent makes his decision) when a player is looking to cross or shoot?
Handball has to be deliberate. Referees use the 'unnatural position of the hands' judgement to try and decipher whether the action was deliberate or not. They are also asked to consider the speed of the ball and the distance it travelled Ignoring what the blatantly biased kopites on here say, it has to be deliberate, that is the rule. A defender having the ball deflecting of his leg and then onto his arm from 3 yards away is highly unlikely to be a deliberate action, hence the reason the referee never gave it. The linesman made the call today and the referee acted on his decision. It was extremely harsh and they'd be screaming blue murder if it decided the game the other way around.
Wrong. Skrtel's had a few of them against him and I've not complained once. If your hands are in a unnatural position then it is deemed intentional. Why else would your hands be in a unnatural position?
