Daniele Orsato blew the whistle too early to award Roma a penalty kick against Juventus, but Henrikh Mkhitaryan passed the ball to his teammate with a hand. So we take a look at what the new handball rule says.
There was controversy close to half time as Orsato awarded Roma a spot kick after that Tammy Abraham had put the ball inside the net.
Trouble is, Jordan Veretout failed to convert it, causing even more debate.
The referee went against the guidelines stating referees and linesmen are urged to hold off on blowing the whistle until the move has completed.
However, looking closely at the replay, you can see Mkhitaryan passing the ball to Abraham with his hand after Wojciech Szczesny brought him down.
The new rule states that when a handball is leading up to a goal, it doesn’t matter if it’s intentional or not.
Regarding the handball, here’s what the IFAB stated ruled before the Euros last summer:
“Touches the ball with their hand/arm when it has made their body unnaturally bigger. A player is considered to have made their body unnaturally bigger when the position of their hand/arm is not a consequence of, or justifiable by, the player’s body movement for that specific situation.
“By having their hand/arm in such a position, the player takes a risk of their hand/arm being hit by the ball and being penalised;
or
– scores in the opponents’ goal:
– directly from their hand/arm, even if accidental, including by the goalkeeper; or
– immediately after the ball has touched their hand/arm, even if accidental.
“Accidental handball that leads to a team-mate scoring a goal or having a goal-scoring opportunity will no longer be considered an offence.”
Orsato had already blown his whistle when Mkhitaryan touched the ball, but it remains to see whether or not it was intentional.