Premier League referees are amongst the most lenient towards handball decisions in the top European Leagues and competitions, stats show.
The interpretation of the handball rule has been one of the biggest sticking points since VAR was introduced in the 2019-20 Premier League season. Arsenal defender William Saliba was recently left furious when a penalty was awarded against him after a header from Chelsea forward Cole Palmer hit his hand in the box from close range.
And disagreements over handballs continued into the Champions League on Tuesday night when Newcastle were denied victory over Paris Saint-Germain when Tino Livramento was controversially adjudged to have handled by Polish referee Szymon Marciniak. Many believe that the decision would not have been given in the Premier League.
Seven penalties given for handball in the English top flight this season, which is considerably more lenient towards handballs in the box compared to most other leagues in Europe.
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According to Opta, only seven of the 42 penalties awarded in the Premier League were for a handball offence, equating to a handball percentage of 16.7%. That is significantly less than the Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A, which have a handball percentage of 27.5%, 31.1% and 34.9% respectively.
This is also reflected in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League, which has huge respective percentages of 42.3%, 25.9% and 21.7%.
What is your reaction to these figures? Let us know in the comment section below
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Only France's Ligue 1 boasts lower handball figures out of the top five leagues and the European competitions. Only one of the 31 penalties awarded in the French division has been for handball.
Not that this would be any comfort to Newcastle United and disappointed manager Eddie Howe. The Magpies were denied a crucial Champions League victory against Paris Saint-Germain after Tino Livramento was adjudged to have handballed in the penalty area.
The ball hit his chest and then deflected onto his arm, leaving the England U21 with next to no chance of moving his arm out the way of the ball.
Kylian Mbappe was then able to convert the resulting penalty from 12 yards to secure a 1-1 draw for the Parisians. Here is the list of the top five leagues in Europe as well as all European competitions.
- Premier League – total penalties: 42, handball: 7, %handball: 16.7%
- Ligue 1 – total penalties: 31, handball: 1, %handball: 3.2%
- Bundesliga – total penalties: 51, handball: 14, %handball: 27.5%
- Serie A – total penalties: 43, handball: 15, %handball: 34.9%
- La Liga – total penalties: 45, handball: 14, %handball: 31.1%
- Champions League – total penalties: 26, handball: 11, %handball: 42.3%
- Europa League – total penalties: 27, handball: 7, %handball: 25.9%
- Conference League: total penalties: 23, handball: 5, %handball: 21.7%
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