It has been another exciting week of Premier League action and another weekend where some strange situations have put the referees in a tight spot. Once again we will take a look at some of the more controversial moments of the weekend.
The incident: Nick Pope handles the ball outside the area after failing to head the ball.

This was a disaster for Nick Pope. He rushed out of the area tried to head the ball and failed. Pope then tries to collect the ball but remembers he cannot and clears.
Per Law 12:
The goalkeeper has the same restrictions on handling the ball as any other player outside the penalty area. The goalkeeper must be sanctioned if the offence stops a promising attack or denies an opponent or the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.
Considering, how isolated the attacker, Mohammed Salah, was and where Pope was if Salah had regained control of the ball the chances of a goal were very high, so a red card was the correct decision. This decision could prove disastrous for Newcastle who will now have to rely on their 3rd choice keeper for the upcoming League Cup final.
The incident: Marcel Sabitzer puts his studs in Wout Faes’ knee.

This was a very controversial decision especially because Sabitzer did not receive a yellow card. Sabitzer’s challenge was very high but the referee deemed he had not gone into the challenge with a lot of force. There should have at least been a card given, but once VAR deemed that a red card should not have been given and VAR does not have the power to give a yellow there so Sabitzer got away with it. Despite the force argument favouring Sabitzer the height of his boot is at least reckless if not outright dangerous and I suspect if a red card is given it would not have been overturned.
The incident: Thilo Kehrer blocks a pass with his arm in the box, and a penalty is not given.

West Ham controversially escaped another handball in the box last week and this time Kehrer was the lucky player. In similar circumstances, Kehrer also seems to be falling down and the VAR did check and the penalty was not given. The VAR deemed that Kehrer had not made his body unnaturally bigger, in addition, I think Kehrer was too close to the ball even to be able to move his arm away in time if he was so a penalty would have been a harsh decision.
