Match Officials Mic’d Up: Howard Webb reviews Martin Odegaard handball in Arsenal vs Liverpool
Plus: Howard Webb analyses why Luton’s equaliser at Burnley was allowed to stand, Brighton’s penalty against Spurs, Raul Jimenez’s red card vs Newcastle and much more in the latest episode of Match Officials: Mic’d Up alongside former Liverpool and Man Utd striker Michael Owen.
In the latest instalment of Match Officials: Mic’d Up, PGMOL chief Howard Webb explains why Liverpool were denied a penalty against Arsenal when Martin Odegaard handled the ball.
Howard Webb: “The on-field referee recognised Odegaard had slipped and saw his arm go towards the ground. We’ve talked in the past about supporting arms if someone falls or breaks their fall with their arm, it’s a pretty well-established concept.
“In this situation, though, there’s an important difference to a normal player that’s fallen. This is not just Odegaard accidentally falling onto the ball, his arm does go out but then he pulls his arm back in towards his body which is when the ball makes contact with his arm.
“The VAR looked at that aspect. He thought it was a case of Odegaard trying to make himself smaller by bringing his arm back to his body. That is the element that’s important here. Whether it’s instinctive or deliberate, he gets a huge advantage by bringing the arm back towards the ball.
Leave a comment