MOTD pundit confirms ref right not to award Gabriel handball penalty | OneFootball

Former England international Ellen White has confirmed that the referee made the correct decision not to award Newcastle United a penalty for a Gabriel Magalhaes handball on Sunday.

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Though Arsenal felt aggrieved after being denied a first-half penalty in their clash with Newcastle United on Sunday, the hosts also felt they had a claim for a spot-kick in the second half.

As Gabriel Magalhaes went to ground to challenge Anthony Elanga, the ball made clear contact with the Arsenal player’s hand. Yet the referee didn’t award a penalty, and after review the VAR decided not to overturn the decision.

Speaking on Match of the Day that same evening, Ellen White explained why a penalty wasn’t awarded.

Photo by George Wood/Getty Images

“It’s Elanga having that strike, it’s coming off Gabriel onto his arm,” White began.

“This angle’s perfect, it’s come off Elanga, deflected off [Gabriel’s] shin onto his arm, which means that that is not a penalty, and it’s the correct decision from the referee, confirmed and checked by VAR.

“It’s deflected off Gabriel’s shin onto his arm, therefore it can’t be a penalty.”

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Photo by George Wood/Getty Images

The rules are clear that a handball offence does not occur if the player plays the ball onto their own arm, or if there’s a clear change of ball trajectory when touched by the same player. The deflection off Gabriel’s shin evidently qualifies.

The rules also mention proximity and whether the arm was in a justifiable position as further mitigating factors. Given the way the ball cannoned up onto Gabriel’s arm from a yard away, with the arm raised because he was in the process of going to ground, both of those factors apply here too.

Ultimately, the referee made the correct decision by not awarding the penalty in real time, and it would have been completely absurd for the VAR to suggest there was a clear and obvious error in reaching that conclusion.