Arsenal: Why Premier League handball law is different to UEFA amid Champions League controversy | OneFootball

Ben White may not have been penalised for the handball incident in the Premier League

Arsenal left the Metropolitano Stadium content with their night's work, but still feeling they deserved more.

A 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid makes the Gunners favourites to progress to the Champions League final. Mikel Arteta's side know a win on home soil will be enough.

There were two big controversial penalty decisions on Wednesday night.

Arteta was particularly furious at a penalty for Eberechi Eze being overturned in the second half after a VAR review.

"You can't overturn it when you have to watch it 13 times," he fumed.

That came after Atletico had equalised with a penalty of their own, Julian Alvarez confidently firing past a stationary David Raya.

Ben White was the player penalised to give away that spot-kick after a shot deflected up off his shin and onto his arm.

It was an example of the handball rules being different in the Premier League and in the Champions League and, despite it feeling very soft, there was little surprise it was given.

"In the Premier League, it’s not a penalty, but here I have to accept that with the rules and how consistent they’ve been, for example, yesterday with Bayern Munich, I accept that this is a handball," Arteta said.

"They applied the rules on Ben White's penalty, that is difficult to accept, but it is a penalty with a handbook."

Mikel Arteta said he had no complaints about this penalty decision that went against Arsenal

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The handball rules in the Premier League are guided by three key principles on how to interpret incidents.

The Premier League and PGMO handbook states that: "Not every touch of a player’s hand/arm with the ball is an offence.

"Hand/arm position should be judged in relation to body movement in that particular situation.

"Players are not expected to move with their arms by their side or behind their back."

There is also a particular interpretation for when the ball deflects onto the arm, as was the case with White against Atletico.

According to the handbook, "a very clear deflection that results in a significant change in trajectory of the ball should carry greater weight than arm position when considering a handball offence".

That leaves application of the rules down to the officials on a case-by-case basis and in the Premier League there is more leniency towards those kind of incidents.

There is more leniency in the Premier League when it comes to the handball law

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In UEFA competitions, there is a far more hardline stance on handball decisions in the box.

There is a much higher threshold for how much a deflection must change the direction of the ball before it hits the arm for a penalty not to be given.

That was clear again on Tuesday night when Alphonso Davies conceded a penalty after a cross hit high thigh and deflected onto his arm, which was close to his side.

With the White incident, it was deemed that his arm was initially in an unnatural position and the deflection off his shin was not enough to justify the handball.

It was always going to be given in a Champions League match. As harsh and as unpopular as those handball rules are, they are at least consistent.