E117: Napoli hold Barca but positive signs despite Ferran misses
Added 2022-02-18 11:38:26 +0000 UTCFerran Torres' penalty earned Barcelona a draw in their Europa League debut against Napoli (second leg in Naples next week), but he also missed several chances to give Xavi's side an advantage to take to Italy. In one of the most heated podcasts to date, Sam, Rik and Toni get stuck into Thursday's 1-1 draw at Camp Nou, covering:
-- Good 'sensations' despite not winning
-- Aubameyang's full debut
-- The new Luuk de Jong
-- Ferran's off night in front of goal
-- Dembele's whistles
-- Camp Nou atmosphere
-- Rik's ratings
-- Penalty DEBATAZO!
Comments
I completely agree with Rik. Yes, players often pull their arms in because they know there's a risk of a handball call, but there's no way the rule, as written, *requires* them to do so. It's just that they know that referees will often, for whatever reason, fail to recognize that their arm was in a perfectly natural position, given their movement. If you look at the video of the action before the handball, you can clearly see how the defender's arm swings out (for balance) as he goes from a stop to a quick move to the left in an attempt to stay in front of Adama. (Look how far Adama's arm is extended at the same time and for much the same reason!) From IFAB: "A player is considered to have made their body unnaturally bigger when the position of their hand/arm is not a consequence of, or justifiable by, the player’s body movement for that specific situation." By that standard, the position of the defender's arm is entirely natural. Referees seem to have decided to use "away from the body" as the standard - presumably because it's more clear-cut - but that just isn't the rule. I find this incredibly frustrating.
Joshua Beattie
2022-02-18 18:05:40 +0000 UTCGreat podcast as usual guys! But I completely disagree with Rik, it doesn't have to be intentional to be called as a hand ball. Clearly a penalty, go Toni!
Shubham Joshi
2022-02-18 15:13:12 +0000 UTC
