Agreed. Poor.Sometimes the handball rule is very silly.
For sure…the whole league feels like that now- I’ve always had a soft spot for City going way back, and having two Belgian stars certainly made me root for them, but the league needed Arsenal this year or the Klopp teams, or the occasional Chelsea upset to keep this experiment from making footy boring in the English top flightAgreed. Poor.
Oh and Fergie is smiling now.
Edit: I'm neutral so the game needed something from Utd. Soft pen counts in that regard. feels more like a cup final now.
I think the current rule is that anything above the shoulders with the arms is de-facto considered an unnatural position. Now, I'm not saying that should be the rule - so like, if it's coming straight at your face you can't put your arms up, that's "unnatural", you have to do the natural thing and take a hard one off the dome? - but given that it is, the ref can't do anything other than call it there.Back to the PEN … Grealish didn’t have to raise his arm - he was coming down from the jump and it only came up as he twisted in response to the header.
Gary Lineker casually mentioned during the half time punditry on BBC1 that he had reliable information that the penalty rule was going to change to a more common sense approach next season. He didn't name the source, nor did any of his colleagues (Alan Shearer, Peter Schmeichel or Micah Richards) push him for one.I think the current rule is that anything above the shoulders with the arms is de-facto considered an unnatural position. Now, I'm not saying that should be the rule - so like, if it's coming straight at your face you can't put your arms up, that's "unnatural", you have to do the natural thing and take a hard one off the dome? - but given that it is, the ref can't do anything other than call it there.
I just wish he had discretion to award a direct free kick from the spot of the foul. Or even an unimpeded kick (a la a penalty), but from the spot of the foul. Like, okay, here's your shot. .10 xG. Not worthless but not an outrageous advantage either. God speed.