Soccer-I must be from different planet, says Dyche after penalty decision

Soccer Football – Premier League – Everton v Manchester City – Goodison Park, Liverpool, Britain – December 27, 2023 Everton manager Sean Dyche Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith

LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) – Everton manager Sean Dyche labelled the handball laws a farce after his side conceded a crucial second-half penalty in their 3-1 Premier League defeat by Manchester City on Wednesday.

Everton were level at 1-1 with the champions just past the hour mark when Amadou Onana lunged to try and block a shot by City’s Nathan Ake. The ball struck Onana’s arm from point-blank range and referee John Brooks pointed to the spot after being instructed by his assistant on the touchline.

VAR opted not to reverse the decision and Julian Alvarez tucked away the penalty to make it 2-1 before Bernardo Silva wrapped up the points for City late on.

Handball decisions have become magnified since the introduction of VAR with the interpretation of whether or not the arm is in a “natural” position often very subjective.

“We can debate the penalty all day. It has been by managers on Zoom calls to say it’s a farce but that’s the way it goes,” Dyche told Amazon Prime.

“That’s completely natural. He’s not putting his arm up to save it, he’s literally jumping in to try to block the ball. How that is given as a penalty is bizarre in my world but I must be from a different planet.

“Tonight the linesman gives that and he’s 18 yards away so I don’t know who is giving what any more. Who knows? All the managers are debating it. Someone needs to stand up at some point and realise that can’t be a penalty because he’s just throwing himself in front of it to try to block the ball.”

Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg, speaking to Amazon Prime, said Brooks made the right decision.

“No one is saying that the decision is wrong but we are saying that by the way the law is written, it is wrong and therefore that is something that needs changing,” he said.

“We are seeing some given and some not given every week.”

(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Ed Osmond)