Handball or header? And the penalty that should have been (Inside Video Review: MLS #10)

Two big calls. One called correctly, the other was missed. A quick review and analysis of both situations...

The attacker’s hands are up. Handball or header?

Here’s Inside Video Review: MLS #10. Enjoy!

1. Handball, DFK for defending team (0:15)

I like how the referee, when coming over to the monitor, requests to see the moment before the handball to check for a foul.

Takeaway #1: The referee knew what happened in the play and wanted to see every part of it before making a decision. Nice to hear him be a bit commanding with his assistants telling them exactly and explicitly what he wanted to see.

Takeaway #2: It’s also a good handball call on VAR. But the lesson for me is, per usual, to get a good angle on these plays to see exactly what body part of what player makes contact. What probably happened here in real-time was the referee saw a header clearance instead of it hitting the attacker’s hand based on his angle. Can very easily happen with play moving so fast but something to always be aware of. Maybe the center could have narrated a bit more to sell his call!

2. No foul, goal kick (5:33)

I’m surprised the decision wasn’t a penalty kick here, to be honest.

The defender clearly kicks out and make solid contact with the defender without getting a touch on the ball.

I’m with the Video Assistant Referee on this one. He seems to think this is a clear penalty and you can sense his frustration in the refereee’s conclusion.

I can see the argument the center makes, which is that the attacker does stick his leg out expecting the contact to come. To me, the attacker is allowed to establish this position and the onus is still on the defender to avoid the contact.

Takeaway: At the recent DOGSO/SPA clinic I attended, the way advanced referees seemed to analyze situations was to:

• use terminology directly from LOTG, and

• keep things simple (don’t overanalyze)

To me, this incident was a good example of a center overthinking things a bit. Does the defender swing and make clear and obvious contact with the attacker without getting the ball? Yes. So penalty would have been the right call, in my opinion.

Update (5/12/2023 | 9:45AM EST): Another comment I thought was illuminating.

I think this is more a case of the ref convincing himself he’s right because it is very difficult to admit your fallibility and an error immediately. Sometimes we want to confirm our own decisions despite the fact we’re wrong.

Takeaway: I like to think one of my strengths is the ability to change my mind when presented with new data. Making a mental note now to keep that front and center, especially for big calls that require the officiating team to make decisions together when not everybody may have seen the same thing.

Know a soccer ref? Feel free to share this with them 💙