John Terry referred to Chelsea’s penalty call against Arsenal as “harsh” after William Saliba handled a header from Mykhailo Mudryk. The Blues jumped out to an early lead in a London derby at Stamford Bridge, with Enzo Fernandez scoring after Conor Gallagher’s close-range effort was saved.
After a quarter of an hour, VAR recommended Chris Kavanagh to examine the pitchside monitor, and Chelsea were presented with a wonderful opportunity to grab the lead. Mudryk’s header struck Saliba’s errant arm after he had met a cross from Raheem Sterling ahead of him. This resulted in a penalty, which Cole Palmer scored.
He commented on X (previously Twitter) that he was “delighted we got the penalty, but I don’t agree with the rules on this, very harsh on defenders.” I would have been incensed if that had been used against me at the time. But today I’m content.
The FA and PGMOL’s current wording for the hand ball rule has changed multiple times in recent years, and some individuals are still unclear about what really qualifies as a violation.
“Touching the ball with the hand or arm of a player whose body has grown unnaturally large is an offense.” A player is said to have made their body unnaturally larger when their hand or arm position is not the outcome of, or justified by, their body movement for that particular situation. By adopting this stance, the player runs the danger of getting penalized if the ball hits their hand or arm.
Saliba went up for a header, which usually results in both arms moving out from the body in an attempt to boost height and pace, but instead he was awarded a penalty. The legendary Terry of Chelsea has already commented on the decision and expressed sympathy to Saliba.
The verdict, in the opinion of Sky Sports reporter Gary Neville, was harsh since “it hits William Saliba’s arm, there is no doubt about that.” I believe he’s got a problem here. After Everton’s last match [against Liverpool], I think this will be approved.
“The key is determining if Saliba’s arm is present to win the ball—it is undoubtedly above, out, and away from his body.” Is he just trying to get an advantage or leverage with that arm? The fact is, it doesn’t really matter. Even if no one understands what a penalty is anymore, the events of today’s Merseyside derby fit the definition.
