VAR has explained why they didn’t give penalty for Levi Colwill’s handball!

On Saturday, February 17, the referee incensed the Manchester City players by failing to award what they felt to be a clear handball against Chelsea.

The Cityzens played a thrilling encounter at the Etihad Stadium but dropped two crucial points.

Raheem Sterling gave Chelsea the lead following a brilliant counterattack by the visitors, coming to haunt his former club.

Mauricio Pochettino’s team deserves credit for their effort; they looked dangerous throughout the game and should have defeated City if not for some poor finishing.

City had their chances as well, and leading scorer Erling Haaland will be kicking himself for squandering up a clear opportunity as time expired.

Rodri’s threatening attempt was eventually equalised late in the game via a clever deflection off Trevor Chalobah and into the goal.

Colwill Handball Match
There was a disagreement near the end of the game when City players believed Chelsea defender Colwill handled the ball in the box.

The defender and City’s Ruben Dias got into an aerial brawl when the ball accidently hit his hand as it plummeted to the ground.

Referee Andy Madley was forced to review the VAR despite vociferous protests from the Manchester City players, and he ultimately chose to overlook the incident.

What the legislation states:
Colwill’s arm clearly made contact with the ball, although the defender was largely ignorant of it.

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) regulations regarding handball incidents are as follows.

A player must “deliberately touches the ball with their hand or arm, for example moving the hand or arm towards the ball” for it to be considered a handball offence.

If a player “touches the ball with their hand or arm when it has made their body unnaturally bigger,” the entire team may be penalised for handball.

If it is judged that a player has “made their body unnaturally bigger when the position of their hand or arm is not a consequence of, or justifiable by, the player’s body movement for that particular situation, the player may also be penalised.” If the ball strikes the player’s hand or arm while in this posture, they risk being punished.

In Colwill’s case, the defender was unstable and kept his arms close to his body. Furthermore, the defender made no intentional effort to control the ball with his hand.

What happens next for Chelsea and Manchester City?
Due to the tie, City is currently fourth in the rankings, four points behind leaders Liverpool, who defeated Brentford 4-1 in their previous match.

Pep Guardiola’s club will next play at home against Brentford in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Chelsea will prepare for their Carabao Cup final against Liverpool on Sunday, February 25.

Nicolas Jackson’s Response to Enzo Still focused on the Manchester City vs. Chelsea match, Sports Brief highlighted a widely publicised altercation involving Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson.

Jackson became upset at Enzo after the Argentine missed a penalty kick.

Jackson and Enzo appeared to be aiming for the same ball to shoot in a popular video, but Jackson was unhappy that his teammate had already shot it.