On Wednesday, Manchester United made history beating PSG 3-1 at Parc des Princes and becoming the first ever team to proceed to another round of the Champions League after losing 2-0 a first leg game at home. It was Marcus Rashford who converted from the spot in the stoppage time for the win.
The Red Devils were awarded a penalty after Diogo Dalot attempted a shot from outside of the box and the ball hit Presnel Kimpembe’s arm. Although the handball itself was clear and the arm was out, the moment caused a lot of discussions as the 23-year-old was in the middle of the jump and clearly didn’t see the ball as it seemed to be flying way over the bar.
Thus, former English referee Mark Clattenburg, who most notoriously officiated the 2016 Champions League final and the 2016 UEFA Euro final, explains in his Daily Mail column why Damir Skomina was right to point at the spot after watching a replay:
“Let’s be clear, referee Damir Skomina applied the laws as UEFA wish them to be in awarding Manchester United their late penalty in Paris.
“But PSG will be furious, and I understand why. This, for me, should not have been a penalty as Presnel Kimpembe did not deliberately handle the ball.
“This would never be given as a penalty in the Premier League, but it was given in the Champions League because of UEFA’s recent instruction to referees, which came about after Manchester City conceded a similar one at Schalke last month.
“They want referees to penalise handballs when the arm is out and in a non-natural position. In that respect, the official has been consistent.”
In fact, that might have drawn the line at the discussions over the episode. Earlier, Les Parisiens’ manager Thomas Tuchel shared his thoughts on the episode:
“I’m a big supporter of VAR and I stay a big supporter of it. From my point of view when Dalot took the shot, for me it was clear it was going over the bar and I was surprised it was a corner. For me the shot was not on target and to get a reward in the form of a penalty it’s a tough decision.”