Why no penalty given on Dumfries in Napoli vs. Inter | OneFootball

DAZN refereeing expert Luca Marelli explains why a penalty was not given to Napoli after Denzel Dumfries charged down a Leonardo Spinazzola shot with his arm.

See how the game unfolds on the Liveblog.

The incident occurred when Inter were 1-0 up at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona during the first half.

Giacomo Raspadori saw his overhead kick charged down by Alessandro Bastoni’s back, then Spinazzola on the rebound hit Dumfries on the arm.

Still images of the impact have gone viral on social media with many asking why a penalty was not awarded.

Dumfries handball goes viral

epa11933035 Napoli’s forward Giacomo Raspadori in action during the Serie A soccer match SSC Napoli vs Inter FC at Diego Armando Maradona stadium in Naples, Italy, 01 March 2025. EPA-EFE/CIRO FUSCO

The explanation given by DAZN refereeing expert Marelli is that while Dumfries did have the arm detached from the body, it was directly in front of his chest and stomach.

That means if the arm had not been there, the ball still would’ve been charged down by a ‘valid’ portion of the body.

The handball rules state that a penalty is given when a player “made their body unnaturally bigger” – or in another description given to referees, has enlarged their silhouette.

In this case, Dumfries had his arm in front of his body, so was not making his body any bigger.