Did you notice the quirky handball rule in PSG’s Champions League semi-final win over Bayern Munich?
In the first half of the second leg, Joao Neves appeared to clearly handle the ball away from his body following a PSG clearance in the penalty area. The referee waved away the call and to many peoples’ surprise, VAR agreed with the decision.
The reason why a penalty wasn’t given was because of an IFAB rule which states you cannot be penalised for handball – no matter where your hand is – if the ball comes very unexpectedly at you after being kicked by a team-mate.
On the Gnine website, it states: “This is not handball (unless the ball goes directly into the opponents’ goal or the player scores immediately afterwards, in which case a direct free-kick is awarded to the other team).”
The decision incurred the wrath of Bayern boss Vincent Kompany, who called for more common sense.
“The hand is there in the air, it hits it – but because it comes off his own team-mate, it’s not a penalty,” he said. “There needs to be a little bit of common sense. It’s ridiculous. It doesn’t tell the whole game, but it’s a one-goal game in the end.”