United States coach Mauricio Pochettino was fuming after his aspect misplaced 2-1 to Mexico within the Concacaf Gold Cup remaining on Sunday, adamant a penalty ought to have been given for handball.
It wasn’t the tip of the VAR drama for his group, as Edson Álvarez‘s aim was initially dominated out for offside — just for the video assistant to step in and award his match-winning 77th-minute effort.
Pochettino’s gripe referred to an incident within the 66th minute when the rating was locked at 1-1. Mexico defender Jorge Sánchez touched the ball along with his hand inside his personal space, however each the referee and the VAR ignored claims for a spot kick.
“The reality was that if that occurred within the reverse half, within the different field, for certain it is a penalty,” Pochettino complained. “The participant was with a knee on the ground, he pushed the hand over the ball. It is not that the hand was [already] on the ground, and the ball touched.
“For me, it was embarrassing to see that scenario and it is a disgrace. I perceive that perhaps 70,000 individuals [in the stands], you understand, giving this penalty, it is not straightforward.”
Did Pochettino have some extent?
Attainable penalty: Handball by Sánchez
What occurred: Max Arfsten was in possession and moved into the field underneath strain from Sánchez and Roberto Alvarado. Sánchez acquired his foot to the ball to take it off the wing-back, however his hand landed on high of it. Referee Mario Escobar made it clear he felt Sánchez had solely touched the ball due to his supporting arm, and it was checked by the VAR, Benjamin Pineda.
VAR choice: No penalty.
Ought to this have been known as a handball? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/nqlOWRI53F
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 7, 2025
VAR assessment: The handball regulation has change into complicated in latest seasons, primarily as a result of lots of the exemptions in opposition to an offense at the moment are hidden in steerage to officers quite than showing within the textual content of the Legal guidelines of the Sport.
One such issue a referee has to keep in mind is whether or not the hand or arm touches the ball when it’ll the bottom to help the physique. So, a participant does not have to maneuver his arm out of the way in which and crash to the ground: nevertheless, he should be capable of cease his fall.
That hand or arm does not already should keep up a correspondence with the bottom when it is hit by the ball, as Pochettino recommended, as a result of it is pure {that a} participant would prolong an arm when falling to the bottom. Certainly, the IFAB’s personal illustration of the exemption does not have the arm involved with the grass.
Nonetheless, that does not give a defender carte blanche to the touch the ball as they’re falling; there must be a consideration for the participant intentionally ensuring their arm stops the ball, or shifting it towards the ball.
Sánchez would argue that there was such a short while between his collision with Arfsten and his hand touching the ball that there was nothing he might do. However he’s all the time trying on the ball, and his arm appeared to increase into its path. It ought to have been a penalty on VAR assessment.
Judging simply how deliberate the act is in these circumstances is not essentially straightforward.
There are clear similarities to a handball by Arsenal‘s Martin Ødegaard at Liverpool in December 2023. The midfielder was inside his personal space and underneath strain from Mohamed Salah, and his hand knocked the ball away. The referee’s on-field opinion was supported by the VAR as a result of Ødegaard was attempting to maintain his stability and the handball was subsequently deemed unintended — the refereeing physique within the Premier League later admitted {that a} spot kick ought to have been awarded.
For Ødegaard see Sánchez, two selections whereby the VAR is attempting to learn the intentions of the defending participant and has chosen to stay with the on-field view, but each ought to have been spot kicks.
We did see the VAR step in on the 2022 FIFA World Cup, although this was accepted as a mistaken intervention. Portugal got a controversial late penalty in opposition to Uruguay when José María Giménez slid in to make a problem and the ball got here off his arm that was going to the bottom as he was falling backward, stopping Bruno Fernandes‘ move. The referee did not give the spot kick, but it surely was controversially given on VAR assessment regardless of there being critical doubt that there was any intent by Giménez to cease the ball, quite than purely help the physique.
