Newcastle United were denied one of the most famous victories in European history against Paris St-Germain due to a highly controversial extra-time penalty described by pundits as a “disgrace” and “robbery”.
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe admitted he felt a huge sense of injustice as the “wrong decision” was reached and “extreme pressure” was placed on referee Szymon Marciniak as the visitors looked poised to hold on despite the barrage in the second half.
Marciniak had initially dismissed appeals after Ousmane Dembélé’s cross hit Tino Livramento’s chest and then hit his elbow, but awarded the spot-kick after being advised by the video assistant referee to reconsider his decision.
Kylian Mbappé scored from the spot to cancel out Alexander Isak’s first goal and secure a 1–1 draw; This means Newcastle must beat AC Milan and hope the French team can’t win against Borussia Dortmund in the final round of matches to qualify for the Champions League last 16.
Penalties would not be awarded in the Premier League due to UEFA having stricter rules on whether a handball is awarded if the ball bounces off players’ bodies first.
Asked by Telegraph Sport whether he felt a great sense of injustice, Howe replied: “Yes, I do, I don’t think it was the right decision. There are so many things to take into account at that moment, first of all the speed. It looks completely different to the live event when slowed down.” It was a tab.
“The ball hits his chest first, goes up and hits his hand. But his hand is not in an unnatural position. [his arms] He’s standing next to you but he’s running.
“I think it’s a bad decision and it’s extremely frustrating for us as you know how little time there is in the game. There’s nothing we can do about it right now.”
Howe added: “Yes, of course [it’s a struggle to control my anger]. But I have to control myself, it’s my job and there’s no use losing control of your emotions when I speak.
“I’m devastated for the players. Their performance in very difficult circumstances and the impact this decision has on the group. Our fate is no longer in our hands and it’s hard to accept that after being in this situation.”
“I’m still trying to come to terms with it. I feel really dull, but at the same time I’m happy with the players.
Our squad is very weak, we deserved the win. We finally got lucky. “The pressure the crowd put on the referee was very high.”
Would a penalty be valid in the Premier League?
When asked by Telegraph Sport, a senior member of the senior management team replied: “Not a chance.” “And some England fans think it’s better everywhere else!”
The law states that a handball must be awarded if a player “intentionally touches the ball with his hand or arm.” . . for example, moving one’s hand or arm towards the ball” and making the body “unnaturally larger.”
However, UEFA has instructed its referees to be stricter than the Premier League in enforcing this instruction; In European competitions, players are often automatically penalized if the ball hits the arm after deflecting off the body.
Lawmakers in England first adopted the same strict rules three years ago, but they were quickly withdrawn after complaints from players and managers.
PGMOL, the refereeing body responsible for elite English football, has adopted an approach where body position is more important in decision-making.
Analyzing the late penalty on Tuesday, a source with knowledge of the Premier League management explained why this penalty would not be given in England. “Arm position is very important; it’s natural,” the source said. “From his chest and his elbow. It is not above the head or cannot be explained by body position. Also, deviation does not generally mean the absence of the pen at all. He gets into the arm position again. “The Premier League adopts a different interpretation than other leagues.”
Then, in April, as the UEFA Football Board held its inaugural meeting in Nyon, Switzerland, the handball code agreed with suggestions that “the same unified approach… should be applied in domestic competitions across Europe” to refereeing generally.
The group also recommended that “UEFA should clarify that a player should not be charged with a handling offense if the ball has previously deflected away from his body and, in particular, if the ball has not gone towards the goal.”
However, as Marciniak’s decision on Tuesday showed, this recommendation to UEFA was not implemented for this season.
Why did Miley miss the penalty shootout?
In a similar incident in Livramento in the middle of the second half, the ball bounced and touched Lewis Miley’s arm, who was controlled by Var.
It was ruled that Miley’s arm was in a natural position and that there was no intentional handling, but there doesn’t seem to be much difference between that and what was given. TNT expert Jenas said: “Lewis jumps towards the arm of the person on top of Miley. Var examined the situation thoroughly and said there was no penalty. This is negligence of the game. I am so angry.”
I understand Newcastle’s frustration – handball law needs to change
The decision to penalize Livramento for handball shows why the law needs to be reconsidered by Ifab. Of course, this won’t help Howe’s side, but the law needs to be rethought to stop inconsistent decision-making.
The law states that it is an offense for a player to intentionally touch the ball with their hand/arm (e.g. move their hand/arm towards the ball). The referees need to evaluate this situation as to whether Livramento deliberately interfered with the ball.
Given his forward momentum and downward movement of the arm (see below), the match officials determined that an infringement had been committed. However, these decisions become so subjective that referees are forced to take into account the player’s movement and the natural position of the arm. I can understand Newcastle’s disappointment about this.
I have an ongoing concern that the law of handball has become too subjective among referees and this is not helped by constant slow-motion replays that change the context of an incident. I would get rid of the slow motion replays as I didn’t believe there was any benefit and instead just play in real time. All this slow-motion repetition makes the decision-making process difficult. The majority of referees will make a decision based on slow motion, but this is not the reality of the situation, it is a false picture.
Last April, in its guidelines for next season, the UEFA board recommended that it should be made clear that a player should not be charged with a handling offense if the ball has previously deflected away from his body. However, this proposal was not implemented and Newcastle paid the price for it at the Parc des Princes.
The best way forward is to make things much simpler regarding handball law and apply it to all competitions, thus ensuring consistency in decision-making. Rework the law and make it simpler (intentional hand ball or not) and eliminate slow motion replays; so we can start to see progress.
How did football react?
The decision was widely condemned elsewhere and TNT pundit Jermaine Jenas was outraged.
“This is one of the most shameful decisions I have seen in a long time,” the former Newcastle midfielder said. “This is a shocking decision; This is not a punishment in any aspect of life. What should be done with his arms – should he wrap them around his back?
“I’m smoking. There is a feeling of being deceived. It should have been a historic win that took them into the final game but they were absolutely robbed.
“Lewis leaps towards Miley’s arm. Var examined the situation thoroughly and said there was no penalty. This is the neglect the game and the players deserve. I was so angry.”
Those sentiments were echoed by former Scotland international Ally McCoist, who added: “It comes off his chest and then hits his left elbow. “If it’s a penalty we can forget about it.
“It’s a shame if we’re going for a penalty kick for this. The whole night will be remembered for this decision. It affected the whole result for Newcastle…
“The penalty awarded ruined the whole night. “They will have to bring the word ‘intentional’ back into the law somewhere.”
Former Newcastle captain Alan Shearer said on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Do me a favour, mate, there’s so much.” The comment was made by Newcastle co-owner Jamie Reuben, who wrote: “What did Alan say?” Shared with comment.
Despite the latest hammer blow, Newcastle put in an excellent performance against one of the European giants, meaning they are guaranteed at least a Europa League place if they don’t lose at home to AC Milan in their final group game.
“That pride will come with time,” Howe added. “We’ll look at the positive things the players have given us. “I couldn’t ask for any more.
“There were some huge performances and I’m very disappointed they couldn’t celebrate that moment of success with a win. “But we’re still in the competition, we’re still competing.
“When the draw was made, it was the ‘group of death’ and I don’t think many people gave us a chance to get out of that group and are sitting here now. I’m a little disappointed that it wasn’t in our hands because looking back at the two Dortmund games I felt we could have done better in those games .
“I don’t think this is the time, I think now is the time to be positive and say that if we can beat Milan, good things can happen from now on.”