Olympique de Marseille could have it bad on Tuesday after its defeat (2-1) conceded on the lawn of Santiago Bernabeu for its comeback in the Champions League. Because if the first minutes of the meeting increased an evening in hell, OM finally held the shock for a long time, even opening the scoring at half an hour of play before two penalties allow Kylian Mbappé to overthrow the course of the match.
And if the first whistle, for a fault by Geoffrey Kondogbia on Rodrygo, was indisputable, the second, sanctioning a hand of Facundo Medina in the surface, was much more disputed. Because if the old Lensois actually touched the ball of the arm, he was on the ground after tackling. An action therefore subject to interpretation …
For several former arbitrators, the decision of Ifan Peljto, or at least the lack of reaction of the Var, is nevertheless difficult to understand. “” At first, it can agree that he whistles to be sure not to be mistaken, but I would have thought that the Var would have returned on itsaid Said Ennjimi to the L'Equipe chain. There is an increase in the surface of the body with the arm, but it is done naturally because the player is tackling … We cannot remove the player's arm, and he cannot put his arm elsewhere. »»
OM defended in Spain
And the opinion of the former Ligue 1 referee was shared on the other side of the Pyrenees by Pérez Burrull, former international referee interviewed by Marca. “In my opinion, the penalty is not properly granted because it is a natural gesture. The player throws himself on the ground and his arm does not try to catch the ball ”he explained.
The law in this area wants there to be hand in the event that the defender has “Artificially increased the surface covered by his body. It is considered that a player has artificially increased the surface covered by his body when the position of his arm or his hand is not a consequence of the movement of his body. »»
