controversial penalty call in PSG vs Arsenal champions league final

It started as a nightmare final for PSG. Though Luis Enrique’s side dominated possession in the first 15 minutes (78% to 22%), they found themselves trailing Arsenal 0-1 on Saturday in Budapest. The Parisians had conceded the opening goal as early as the 5th minute after an unfortunate clearance by Marquinhos ricocheted off Leandro Trossard, inadvertently launching Kai Havertz into space. On the left flank, the German then advanced to challenge Matvey Safonov before unleashing a thunderous shot under the crossbar (5th).

Moments later, the defending champions thought they had drawn level. Just after the 15-minute mark, Bukayo Saka received a corner delivered by Ousmane Dembélé. The England international, positioned near the edge of the penalty area, deflected the ball onto his outstretched arms before touching it a third time with his hand. The Parisians immediately protested for a penalty, but to no avail. Match referee Daniel Siebert took no action, and the VAR did not overturn his decision.

Did he artificially increase the area covered by his body?

Under Law 12 of the IFAB regulations, not every contact between the ball and a player’s hand or arm constitutes an offense. A foul is only given if the action is deliberate, which does not appear to be the case here.

A foul is also awarded if a player touches the ball with their hand or arm after artificially increasing the area covered by their body. This occurs “when the position of the arm or hand is not a consequence of the body’s movement in that specific situation or cannot be justified by such movement.” In the clip, the Arsenal player’s arms are clearly away from his body. Officials likely determined that his position was a direct result of clearing the ball.

Nevertheless, the decision not to award a penalty sparked fierce debate on social media. “He touched the ball with his hand 27 times in 2 seconds—everything’s fine,” “the guy’s juggling with his hands but it’s all good,” and “VARsenal” were among the sarcastic remarks. Others disagreed: “He made it look easy like Neves’ handball in Munich,” “there’s nothing there,” and “it’s hard to call a handball,” they argued. At halftime, PSG had failed to pull one back despite a few chances—though none were truly clear-cut.