“This is one of the most shameful decisions I have seen in a long, long time..” Pundit for TNT Sports this Tuesday, Jermaine Jenas did not mince his words when analyzing the draw snatched by PSG against Newcastle thanks to a questionable penalty, transformed by Kylian Mbappé (1- 1). The former Spurs midfielder thus believed that the Magpies had been “stolen“, agreeing with Eddy Howe’s opinion at the press conference: “I think the referee didn’t make the right decision. You have to take certain things into account at this point, first of all the speed, which is not the same as slow motion. I think the hand goes in the direction of a natural movement of the body.”
69th minute: The Hakimi-Gordon contact
The context : Touched on the right side, Ousmane Dembélé launches Achraf Hakimi towards the Magpies surface. In the fight with Anthony Gordon, the Moroccan is the quickest. He touches the ball with his left foot before collapsing.
What the referee decides : First, Mr. Marciniak indicates that there is no foul and asks to restart the game. Then, he stops it a few seconds later, warned by the VAR. Finally, without going to see the images, he trusts the video referees and does not whistle anything.
Our opinion : This is perhaps the most telling action. If the contact between the two players is light, it is enough to whistle as Hakimi has taken the upper hand thanks to his little touch of the ball. But the fall accentuated by the Moroccan and the fact that his ball was pushed a little far undoubtedly weighed in the balance.
Contact between Hakimi and Gordon during PSG-Newcastle
Credit: Getty Images
72nd: Miley’s non-whistle hand
The context : On a cross from Bradley Barcola, Fabian Ruiz cannot take over at first intention. But, in the duel with Bruno Guimaraes, the Spaniard managed to touch up the ball to send it to the thigh and then the hand of young Lewis Miley. The Park rumbles and the Parisian players all raise their arms as the hand-ball contact is visible to all.
What the referee decides : He lets it play before finally… drawing a yellow card against Gianluigi Donnarumma, furious and author of an angry gesture from his part of the field. On this occasion, the VAR truck does not signal any infringement since the ball first touches the Englishman’s thigh before touching his hand.
Our opinion : The clarifications made by the IFAB in 2021 are formal. Since he does not deliberately touch the ball with his arm, since he does not artificially increase the surface area of his body, Miley does not deserve to be punished. Given the short time between Ruiz’s contact and his hand, the movement is considered natural.
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90+5th: The whistled hand of Livramento
The context : It’s a proper seat. Trailing since the 25th minute, Paris pushes and accumulates attacks towards the Magpies surface. Found by Vitinha at the entrance to the area, Ousmane Dembélé crosses with first intention. But, less than a meter from him, Livramento finds himself in the path of the ball and deflects the ball first with his chest then with his arm.
What the referee decides : M.Marciniak stops the game and waits for instructions from the VAR. At the time, he didn’t whistle anything but didn’t hesitate to get his own idea by viewing the images. Despite a situation similar to that of Miley, he decides to whistle a penalty.
Our opinion : Cruel but above all incoherent. Livramento’s hand is similar to Miley’s in the sense that intentionality does not exist (ball coming very fast, very close) and that her arm is in a natural position given its position. The penalty should therefore not have been whistled.
The hand whistled against Livramento during PSG-Newcastle
Credit: Getty Images