NEWCASTLE felt hard done by after conceding a late penalty against Paris Saint-Germain. The Magpies were leading going into the final minute before the ball struck the arm of Tino Livramento in the penalty area.
Newcastle felt hard done by after conceding a late penaltyCredit: Getty
The ball bounced off Tino Livramento’s chest before it hit his armCredit: TNT Sports
Referee Szymon Marciniak initially waved away PSG appeals before VAR overturned the call, with Kylian Mbappe duly scoring an equaliser from 12 yards.
However, replays showed that the ball had come off his chest first.
Under Uefa rules, Livramento was deemed to have made his body unnaturally bigger with his arm.
But in a series of recommendations for the 2023/24 season, Uefa’s Football Board – an independent advisory group – had in April proposed a change that would have saved Newcastle’s skin in the final minutes.
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The statement on the organisation’s website, said: “With regard to the Laws of the Game, which stipulate that not every touch of a player’s hand/arm with the ball is an offence, the Board issued the following recommendations for next season for better compliance of the Laws with the nature of the game:
In their guidelines for the next season, the Board recommends that UEFA should clarify that no handball offence should be called on a player if the ball is previously deflected from his own body and, in particular, when the ball does not go towards the goal.
On the same notice, the Board recommends that not every handball should automatically lead to a caution after every shot at goal, as anticipated by current guidelines.
The Board encourages the referees to be more decisive in cautioning players who display unsporting behaviour, especially when attempting to deceive the referee by feigning injury or pretending to have been fouled.
UEFA should launch an initiative towards the IFAB for the amendment of Law 12, which foresees that a player should be sent off for denying the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by a handball offence. The Board feels players should be sent off only if they deliberately and intentionally touch the ball with their hand/arm. In case of other handball offences, the players should only be cautioned.”
Keith Hackett, former general manager of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the English referees’ body, told the Daily Telegraph that this recommendation was not implemented by Uefa for its own competitions.
The Premier League, meanwhile, operates under more lenient handball rules.
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TNT Sports commentator Ally McCoist suggested Eddie Howe’s side had been “robbed” by the decision.
He said: “That is a shambles! Honestly, that’s not on. It hits his chest, goes off his left elbow. If that’s a penalty, we may as well give the game up!
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“It’s never a penalty, we’ve been singing his praises all night. If he’s the best ref in the business, how has he given that?! There is no way that that penalty kick should be given.
“That’s not on, I feel for Eddie Howe and those players, I genuinely do. It’s bordering on robbery, it really is.”
Fellow pundit Jermaine Jenas echoed this sentiment while Toon legend Alan Shearer also shared an X-rated post on social media with his own thoughts on the matter.
Jenas added: “I think that’s a shocker from the referee. He had such a good game and to give that right at the end, he’s caved to be honest with you.
“I think the players from Paris Saint-Germain put so much pressure on him throughout the match, he’d performed so well, but for that to happen in that moment like that, it doesn’t feel right.
“It’ll be a tough one to swallow for the players but Eddie Howe should be so proud of his team.
“They’re down to their bare bones, they’ve worked their socks off and they should’ve left Paris with all three points.”
Meanwhile, Shearer posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Do me a f***ing favour man. What a load of s***.”
Alexander Isak had put the Magpies ahead in the opening stages by taking advantage of a spilt save from Gianluigi Donnarumma.
However, Newcastle were soon penned back into their own half and defended resolutely before seeing their hard work undone by Kylian Mbappe’s 98th-minute spot kick.
A 3-1 win for Borussia Dortmund at AC Milan means it is a one-game shootout for one of three teams to progress into the knockout stages of the Champions League.
PSG sit on seven points, while Newcastle and Milan both sit on five.
The Toon host Milan in their final group stage game, knowing they must win to stand a chance of progressing to the Last 16.
A defeat will see them knocked out of European football entirely. More
