Felipe was at the centre of a moment of controversy in the Madrid derby on Sunday. The Atletico Madrid defender handled the ball inside the penalty area, yet no spot-kick was given.
Referee Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez went over to look at the incident on a pitchside monitor but decided to stick with his original decision – the right one according to Juan Andujar Oliver.
These are IFAB’s rules of the game in terms of the handball law, so you can decide for yourself whether it was indeed handball by Felipe or not:
It is an offence if a player:
– deliberately touches the ball with their hand/arm, including moving the hand/arm towards the ball
– scores in the opponents’ goal directly from their hand/arm, even if accidental, including by the goalkeeper
– after the ball has touched their or a team-mate’s hand/arm, even if accidental, immediately:
– scores in the opponents’ goal
– creates a goal-scoring opportunity
– touches the ball with their hand/arm when:
– the hand/arm has made their body unnaturally bigger
– the hand/arm is above/beyond their shoulder level (unless the player deliberately plays the ball which then touches their hand/arm
The above offences apply even if the ball touches a player’s hand/arm directly from the head or body (including the foot) of another player who is close.
Except for the above offences, it is not an offence if the ball touches a player’s hand/arm:
– directly from the player’s own head or body (including the foot)
– directly from the head or body (including the foot) of another player who is close
– if the hand/arm is close to the body and does not make the body unnaturally bigger
– when a player falls and the hand/arm is between the body and the ground to support the body, but not extended laterally or vertically away from the body
