Newcastle’s historic triumph over PSG in the Champions League faced a setback with a controversial late penalty awarded to Kylian Mbappe.
Despite leading through Alexander Isak’s first-half goal, the Magpies were on the verge of a memorable double over PSG until a VAR-reviewed decision in the seventh minute of stoppage time.
The penalty was given against Newcastle’s Tino Livramento, who was judged to have handled the ball after a cross from Ousmane Dembele bounced off his chest onto his arm.
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Referee Szymon Marciniak initially dismissed PSG’s protests but reversed his decision after consulting the monitors.
Upon reviewing the UEFA guidelines on handball, pundits discovered that, according to UEFA rules, Livramento was deemed to have increased the size of his body unnaturally by using his arm.
However, proposed changes for the 2023/24 season might have led to a different outcome, as UEFA recommended that no handball offense should be called if the ball is deflected from another part of the body and does not move towards the goal, aligning with the Premier League’s current stance.
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe expressed his disappointment, stating, “I didn’t think it was a penalty. It hits his chest first. If it hits his hands first, well, it’s still not a penalty because he’s so close. It’s not a penalty when it hits his chest first and then hits his hand, which is low.”