Chelsea and Arsenal played out an entertaining 2-2 draw on Saturday but one incident in particular has grabbed the headlines.
Former Premier League boss Alan Pardew has urged the FA to change the handball law following Arsenal draw at Chelsea. Pardew claims Gunners defender William Saliba was unfairly punished for handling the ball in his own area.
The ball clearly struck Saliba’s arm following a cross which was headed towards goal by Mykhaylo Mudryk. The defender attempted to head the ball away but the touch from Mudryk took it onto his outstretched arm.
Referee Chris Kavanagh didn’t see it as a penalty in real time but VAR recommended a pitchside review, which ultimately saw him point to the spot. Pardew says, in the current state of the law, that a penalty was the right decision.
But he believes the wording of an “unnatural” arm position must be changed. Pardew says it is nearly impossible to decide whether an arm movement was indeed natural or not.
what did Referee Chris Kavanagh about Arsenal said
He said on talkSPORT: “My view is that unnatural arm movement, I have a problem with that whole concept. Because unnatural arm movement is very difficult to assess.
“I’ve coached players for 30 years and whenever they’re defending, when they’re throwing their bodies around, when they’re trying to get a block in, when they’re unbalanced and they have to get back on balance, their arms are always in unnatural positions. But it’s not until the ball hits it that it does look unnatural.
“Saliba goes up in that position and he’s literally trying to head the ball and it hits his arm. Okay, as the rule stands it’s a penalty and I get that, I’ve got no problem with that.
“But it’s the rule that we need to change. Fans are not stupid, they’re smart people. Every Chelsea fan in that stadium was up when it hit his hand, they know, they put the referee under pressure.
