Footballers Angry reactions to no penalty given for Manchester United to Cristian Romero’s handball

This is a scandal

not penalty

cry

The LotG on handling have changed DRASTICALLY over the last few years. Referees have more discretion. Here, I could see this both ways. Why would I call it handling? Extended arms preventing the ball from passing by him. Why would I NOT call it handling? Proximity to player taking the shot, and we DO give defenders more leniency IF we can assert that his or her hands and arms are in a JUSTIFIABLE POSITION BASED ON HIS OR HER ACTIONS. That argument can be made here. He is most definitely NOT trying to stop the ball with his hands and arms. He is moving, and making a play on the ball, so the referee's view is that the player's hands and arms are justified based on THIS action. That is all that matters, opinions and speculation do not matter. "A player’s hand/arm position should be judged in relation to their body movement in that particular situation … 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." — ergo, there is flexibility based on situation.