Penalty/ Save ref in general (18 replies)

I'm a bit surprised there isn't more discussion of the save made by the WBA defender.

To me it is a clear penalty and possible red card.

The guidance is:
a player prevents the ball from going into the goal with their hand/arm, but does not deliberately handle the ball and does not make his body unnaturally bigger.

The handball law is illustrated with a few diagrams which show it's handball if his arm is away from his body.

If you take the picture of the contact with the ball and just include the bits of his body that can legally play the ball the ball is 18 inches or so away from his body. It is only his arm sticking out that makes his body unnaturally bigger that stops the ball going in.

So for me
1) stops the ball going in with his arm - yes
2) deliberate - I do not know
3) Making his body unnaturally bigger - yes

So it is a clear penalty.
I have seen the Sky analysis and they stop at point two. Their analysis is rubbish because they didn't consider the final bit of the rule.