The decision to award the Gunners a penalty kick in the second half after Tottenham defender Cristian Romero appeared to handle the ball inside the area wasn’t universally praised.
Tottenham has received praise for not pouting over the “joke” penalty decision that was made in the Sunday’s north London derby draw.
At the Emirates, Cristian Romero was adjudged to have intentionally blocked Ben White’s shot with his hand, resulting in Arsenal scoring the game’s second goal from the penalty spot. Rob Jones gave the hosts a penalty after a thorough VAR review of the incident, and Bukayo Saka duly stepped up and converted it to give the hosts a 2-1 lead.
Son Heung-Min quickly equalized, but BBC pundit Garth Crooks praised Ange Postecoglou’s team for not moping around when they had every right to because the penalty call was “a joke.”.
Spurs had every right to complain despite not pouting over the awarded penalty. The rule is absurd and needs to be changed, he insisted.
We now have to endure a rule change that makes it illegal to play if the ball hits a player’s hand or arm, regardless of whether it was done intentionally or not. What was wrong with the original handball rule to begin with?
“I don’t recall ever hearing a player, coach, manager, or football fan express dissatisfaction with the original rule.
Why are football’s bureaucrats changing the same regulations that have helped the sector thrive for decades?
Not only Crooks, but other well-known pundits, are against the current handball laws.
Gary Lineker asserted that the rule is “farcical” and that “common sense should prevail” on the podcast “The Rest is Football.”.
Alan Shearer, his co-host and another legendary English football player, was a little more direct in his assessment of the situation, saying that the “handball law is f****** hopeless.”.
However, Shearer opted to target the law itself rather than the people responsible for enforcing it, insisting that “the problem is the law, not the refs.”.
Mike Dean, a former Premier League referee, asserted that the official ruling does not support the most recent handball decisions in light of this.
Dean stated: “I didn’t think it was [a penalty] Gary [O’Neil] has had a conversation with the fourth official and judging from what he said, because his hand is so high, it negates the deflection.
He may feel it first in his chest or knee.
It didn’t get turned over, which surprises me.
If that’s the case, so many more penalties will be imposed.
At the moment, it is not recorded in writing, but that is what the referees are saying.”.
In a press conference, Spurs manager Postecoglou acknowledged being perplexed by the penalty ruling at the Emirates and referred to the handball incident at Luton.
He admitted, “I couldn’t see it but I have no idea about the handball rule.
“I don’t, really.
When I saw it at Wolves, it seemed like sometimes if it hits your hand, you get penalized, and other times it doesn’t.
I have no idea.
The only game rule I don’t understand is this one.
I’m not sure how you’re supposed to block things and be in a natural position unless we start creating armless defenders.
Although I don’t understand the handball rule, you kind of hope that these things will balance out over the course of a year.
Sincerely, I have said that to referees in the past, so I’m not sure how they interpret it.”.
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