The fifth minute of setting up one of the most important matches of the basic groups was running. The ball hit Newcastle full-back Valentino Livrament in the body and then in the arm, which was in natural motion. Referee Szymon Marciniak let the game go on, he even issued a yellow card after protests from the home players. But in the meantime, his colleagues from the video called him.
And then, to everyone’s surprise, the Polish referee pointed to the penalty kick mark. Kylian Mbappé equalized from the penalty spot, which completely changed the development in the group. The match between PSG and Newcastle ended in a 1-1 draw thanks to a badly awarded penalty, which caused quite a stir.
“Some rules are written wrong, this must never be a penalty,” Samir Nasri, a former player of the national team Les Bleus, shook his head immediately after the match, on the French broadcast of Canal+.
There is an exception
This way, the topic of what actually is a penalty and what is not is being addressed again. What hand is a foul, and when is it not whistled? After Tuesday’s match of the most prestigious European football league, new embarrassments are on the table.
“UEFA and the Premier League obviously interpret handball differently, but the decision to award a penalty looks absurd in any case. The ball bounced off the chest and then off the left elbow, which was in a completely natural position,” responded respected British journalist Ben Jacobs immediately after the match , who has over 300 thousand followers on Twitter.
Penalty at the end of the match PSG – Newcastle. A topic that will probably be talked about for a long time. Hear the opinions of our experts in the post-match studio.#NovaSport #ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/WZmnWXDFcm
— Nova Sport (@novasport_cz) November 29, 2023
Rules expert Jiří Kureš suggests what could have led the Polish referee Marciniak to blow the whistle for a penalty in such a critical moment: “If the ball goes from the body to the hand, the whistle is not blown. There was no whistle even in Qatar, where it happened several times,” he confirms recent trend Czech rule expert.
But he also adds in one breath that this case does not always have to apply: “The only exception is when the hand is directed towards the ball, even if it is in a natural movement. If the referee judges that this movement was there, it is the so-called intention and then this rule prevails over by everyone,” added Kureš.
It was a mistake
While the current referees or delegates are not allowed to comment on the arbitrators’ verdicts due to the code, former referee Eduardo Iturralde González, in an interview with the Spanish channel Cadena SER, condemned his colleague: “It shouldn’t have been a penalty, Livrament’s movement was completely natural,” he said.
UEFA have clarified that “no handball offence should be called on a player if the ball is previously deflected from his own body”, following the penalty awarded to PSG in the 98th minute against Newcastle.
So they’ve admitted the referee made a massive error. pic.twitter.com/t4OyhRuMpj
— Football Tweet (@Football__Tweet) November 29, 2023
Marciniak, who in the past also helped Czech football when he ruled out the Prague “S” derby in March 2022, made a mistake in his opinion. This was finally recognized by the UEFA organization itself, which withdrew the Polish video referee Tomasz Kwiatkowski from the next Champions League match between San Sebastian and Salzburg. Simply because he should not have called his colleague on the field to the monitor at all. UEFA also reminded that, as it has emphasized in the recent past, handball will not be whistled if the ball bounces off the body onto the hand. And especially when the ball is not heading towards the goal.
The goal that changes everything
The goal from the controversial penalty in the set-up was an absolutely crucial moment for the development of the group. Should the match end in Newcastle’s victory, the Magpies would have everything in their hands. Now PSG has that privilege.
Newcastle play their final game at home to AC Milan and need a win to progress to the Champions League play-offs, while they will be relying on Borussia Dortmund to help them with their performance.
The final match of the PSG group will be played at the Westphalia Stadium. Borussia is already certain of progressing to the spring knockouts, but the Bundesliga team’s motivation is still to win the “group of death”. And for that he needs at least a draw.
Group table. (29.11.) (@ Livesport)
On the other hand, PSG’s gain of one point may not be enough, they must win at Borussia to ensure progress. If it were only a draw and Newcastle beat AC Milan at home, the English team will return to second place – the Magpies have better matches against each other (4:1 and 1:1).
Last to the party is AC Milan. And the “Rossoneri” still believe in progress. They would celebrate if they win at Newcastle and Dortmund beat PSG at home.
Prestige is more than money
The autumn group stage of the Champions League will decide not only who advances to the spring play-offs, but also distributes part of the money package for its participants. Each team receives 15.64 million euros for participating in the basic groups. Advancement to the round of 16 means a bonus of 9.6 million euros (approx. 233 million CZK), while the teams that finish in the group collect only 930,000. The winner of the entire competition will receive a bonus of 20 million euros. The bonus for each victory in the match is 2.8 million euros, 930 thousand is taken for a draw. Among other things, the eliminated club will lose the opportunity to earn from broadcasting rights in the following months of the competition. The error of the Polish judges can thus be calculated in the amount of hundreds of millions of crowns.
Given that both Newcastle and PSG are owned by Arab owners – Magpies by the Saudi Arabian group Public Investment Fund and PSG by Qatar Sports Investments, headed by former tennis player Nasser Al-Khelajfi, these finances are rather a small contribution for the rich clubs. That is why in this case it is more about prestige and winning the most valuable European club trophy, which neither of the two teams has won in their history.
The article was originally published for Livesport News.
2023-11-29 14:48:45
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