If Fulham are relegated from the Premier League this season by one level or much less, they are going to look again at Thursday night time’s 1-0 defeat towards Tottenham and curse their luck – and the ludicrous state of the handball legislation.
Josh Maja thought he had equalised halfway by the second half for Scott Parker’s facet, who had spent the primary interval below stress however got here out and dominated the second 45.
The on-loan Bordeaux striker’s pleasure was quick lived, although. VAR proved that within the construct as much as the objective, the ball had struck the hand of team-mate Mario Lemina.
Fulham v Tottenham: Participant Scores, Match Stats, Participant Stats
Now, this was not a deliberate act of handball. Certainly, the ball was rifled on the midfielder from point-blank vary by Davinson Sanchez.
It was not even a case whereby Lemina had his hand exterior of the silhouette of his physique. His arm was glued to his facet and had it not been there – mockingly able the legal guidelines would possible deem ‘unnatural’ – the clearance would possible have cannoned off his thigh in any case.
Sadly for Fulham, the legislation states that any handball that ends in a objective, unintended or not, is trigger for punishment.
Much more sadly for Parker’s luckless troops, VAR was available to check the trivialities of the incident. Had it not been employed, there may be little probability than any of the on-field officers would have paid any heed to Spurs’ hopeful claims of foul play.
Maybe probably the most ludicrous facet of the entire incident, nonetheless, is that had the metaphorical boot been on the opposite foot – that Maja had tried a shot that had struck Sanchez’s arm in the same place – the legal guidelines would have instructed the referee to show a blind eye to it.
So, this can be a case of an infringement that’s fairly actually a foul in a single space of the pitch however not in one other.
It’s a loopy state of affairs.
The Premier League sensibly acted to eradicate such punishment on defenders, albeit at a fairly weird mid-season level, however their motion did nothing to assist offensive gamers. It was an oversight as ridiculous as the present legislation.
When this loophole is lastly closed – because it should absolutely be – it should come too late for Fulham, for whom it might price their Premier League soccer.