Premier League issue statement as Man Utd denied penalty during Southampton game

Premier League issue statement as Man Utd denied penalty during Southampton game

Under pressure from Amad Diallo, Southampton defender Kyle Walker-Peters handled the ball in his own area against the Red Devils, denying Manchester United a penalty.

The Premier League issued a statement after deciding not to give Manchester United a penalty after a handball appeal.

Referee John Brooks dismissed Southampton’s claims after defender Kyle Walker-Peters seemed to control the ball in his own 18-yard box.

After a quick review of the 25th-minute incident, video assistant referee Paul Tierney quickly agreed with the match official’s verdict, despite Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte’s arguments to Brooks.

jandro Garnacho’s shot had been blocked high into the air before bouncing in the direction of Walker-Peters and United star Amad Diallo. Southampton’s defender attempted to protect the looping ball from his opponent but had some difficulty in doing so.

Amad attempted to force an error from Walker-Peters however, and initiated contact with the 27-year-old just before he handled the ball. This has been provided as a mitigating circumstance, contributing to the Saints star touching the ball in the manner he did and appears to have ensured that a spotkick was not awarded.

stament from Premier League match centre read: “The referee’s call of no penalty for handball by Walker-Peters was checked and confirmed by VAR, who deemed it was accidental as a consequence of contact from Amad.”

This would seem to indicate that the judgement was made that Walker-Peters had not intentionally made his body ‘unnaturally bigger’ in coming into contact with the ball. This would have resulted in a penalty even if unintentional.

Laws state: “A player is considered to have made their body unnaturally bigger when the position of their hand/arm is not a consequence of, or justifiable by, the player’s body movement for that specific situation

“By having their hand/arm in such a position, the player takes a risk of their hand/arm being hit by the ball and being penalised.”

United saw their woes compounded at Old Trafford as they found themselves a goal behind before half-time. Summer signing Manuel Ugarte knocked into his own net after Tyler Dibling flicked the ball on from a corner to leave United trailing at the break.