Referee chief Howard Webb has acknowledged an error in judgment regarding the handball incident involving Martin Odegaard during the December 23 Premier League clash against Liverpool.
This particular incident, occurring at Anfield, could have had significant implications for the Reds in their pursuit of the title.
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The match concluded with a 1-1 draw, and the contentious moment unfolded in the 26th minute when Arsenal held a one-goal lead.
Mohamed Salah, attempting to advance into the Arsenal penalty area from a free kick, found his path obstructed by Odegaard.
Although replays clearly revealed the ball striking the Norwegian’s arm, it was evident that he had slipped in the same motion.
Referee Chris Kavanagh initially dismissed the penalty appeals, and in a segment of Match Officials: Mic’d Up, the referee can be heard citing ‘his hands on the floor’ as his rationale for not awarding Liverpool a penalty kick.
The VAR is then heard saying: “For me, he’s falling down, he’s moving his arm towards him, so it’s check complete for me.”
The assistant VAR says: “From the brief look I’ve seen, yeah agreed.”
In reaction to the video clip, Howard Webb, the director of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), concurred with Michael Owen’s assessment that a penalty should have been awarded.
However, Webb went on to elucidate the reasoning behind the matchday officials’ decision.
“The referee on the field recognised that Odegaard had slipped and saw his arm go towards the ground,” he began.
“We’ve talked in the past about supporting arms, if somebody falls and breaks their fall with their arm it’s all very natural and that’s a well-established concept.
“In this situation though there’s an important difference to a normal player falling, this is not just Odegaard accidentally falling to the ball. He does slip, his arm does go out, but then he pulls his arm back in towards his body which is when the ball makes contact with the arm.”
Webb added: “The VAR looked at that aspect and thought it was a case of Odegaard trying to make himself smaller by bringing the arm back towards the body, but that’s the element that I think is important here, whether it’s instinctive or deliberate, he gets a huge advantage by bringing his arm back towards the ball.
“I think all the feedback we got afterwards was clear that was people expected a penalty and I would agree and as such this was one that didn’t reach the right outcome.”
