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Handball rule draws widespread ire in penalty-dominated EPL

September 29, 2020 00:00:00


LONDON, Sept 28 (AP): Jose Mourinho had seen enough. The full-time whistle had yet to be blown but the Tottenham Hotspur manager stormed down the tunnel - his head down and hands in his pockets - after seeing his team fall foul of a handball ruling that has quickly become the biggest talking point of the Premier League season.

It was the fifth minute of stoppage time and Tottenham were seeing out a 1-0 lead against Newcastle when a ball was pumped into Spurs' penalty area from a free-kick.

A header by Newcastle substitute Andy Carroll struck the outstretched arm of Eric Dier - as the Tottenham defender was looking the other way - and loud appeals from Newcastle players reverberated around the empty stadium.

Almost inevitably, a penalty was awarded after the referee took the opportunity to view the incident on the pitchside monitor.

Callum Wilson converted the spot kick from Newcastle's first shot on target all match, the visitors were about to escape with a 1-1 draw, and a disgusted Mourinho didn't want to hang around.

It was also a day to forget for Mourinho's big coaching rival, Pep Guardiola, whose Manchester City team conceded three penalties - none of them for handball, however - and lost 5-2 at home to Leicester.

Jamie Vardy scored a hat-trick, with two of them coming from the penalty spot. There have already been 20 penalties in just 25 games in the Premier League this season, and there is likely to be many more as defenders struggle to adapt to a newly adopted interpretation of the defensive handball rule.

The Premier League has fallen in line with the rest of European football this season to apply the ruling in a stricter way rather simply than judging it on intent. Like Robin Koch, Victor Lindelof, Matt Doherty, Neal Maupay and Joel Ward before him this season, Dier was adjudged to have made his body unnaturally bigger by having his arm out when it was hit by the ball, leaving the referee little option but to award a penalty by the letter of the law.

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson said the newly adopted rule was "killing the game" after his team lost 2-1 to Everton on Saturday after conceding a handball penalty for the winning goal. Mourinho chose not to criticise the rule for fear of collecting a fine from the Football Association, but his Newcastle counterpart had his say.

Players past and present spoke of their opposition to the rule interpretation, too.

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher urged the game's governing bodies to "sort this out".

Leicester became the first team to score three penalties in a single Premier League game, according to the league's official statistics supplier, Opta.

By defending deeply, limiting the space centrally and striking quickly on the counterattack, Leicester had a game plan at Manchester City that worked a treat.

Leicester were helped by some poor defending by the hosts, too.

Kyle Walker, Eric Garcia and Benjamin Mendy all conceded penalties with clumsy fouls, with Vardy converting two and YouriTielemans the other. Between his spot kicks, Vardy met a right-wing cross with a deft back-heel flick, meaning last season's Golden Boot winner has now scored five goals already.

James Maddison scored Leicester's other goal, a 25-metre curler into the top corner.

City, who scored through RiyadMahrez in the fourth minute to take the lead and then late through Nathan Ake, didn't have a recognised striker because of injuries to Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus amid a slew of absentees.

It was Pep Guardiola's worst home defeat since taking charge of City in 2016, and punctured the optimism that followed the team's 3-1 win at Wolverhampton on Monday.

Wolves, who had one of the tightest defences last season, have now conceded at least three goals in successive games after getting beaten 4-0 by West Ham.


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