Controversy and debate over Juventus penalty against Cagliari | OneFootball

The penalty awarded to Juventus against Cagliari has caused controversy, as while by the letter of the law it is a spot-kick, fans and former players argue Sebastiano Luperto had few other options.

The incident allowed Dusan Vlahovic to break the deadlock at the Allianz Juventus Stadium in Turin this afternoon, just 15 minutes into the match.

See how the game unfolds on the Liveblog.

Federico Gatti jumped to get his head to a corner and it went wide, initially no corner given.

However, VAR spotted that not only had there been a deflection, but it was off the fingertips of Cagliari defender Luperto.

By the letter of the law, this was a penalty because Luperto’s arm was raised and away from the body, therefore increasing his silhouette.

Juventus penalty adheres to rules

DAZN refereeing expert Luca Marelli insisted this was a spot-kick and the arm could be considered in an unnatural position.

“It is clearly a penalty, as the fingers on Luperto’s right hand touches the ball and is in a totally unnatural position,” said Marelli.

“The direction of the ball does not change, but we know now that for the rules what matters is the position of the arms and that makes this a punishable offence, even if he just grazes it with his fingers.”

Former referee Gianpaolo Calvarese, who works as a pundit for Sky Sport Italia, also defended the decision to give a Juventus spot-kick.

“Luperto’s handball is punishable due to geometry: the penalty is correct. The arm seems to be in a natural position considering his intent to head the ball and the impact with the opponent behind him, but it is above his shoulders. In that position, it is always punishable.”

On the other hand, former players, pundits and fans pointed out that Luperto was jumping for a header with Gatti, in a tangle with two other players, and doing that without raising his arms was borderline impossible.

If the rules have been adjusted this season to affect issues like encroachment on a penalty that does not affect the play, then can more tweaks be made for a handball that does not change the direction of the ball?