Dani Vivian, a defender for Athletic Bilbao, was sent off in the first half of the Europa League semi-final first leg against Manchester United, according to supporters.
With the score at 1-0 for United, the referee sent Vivian off after VAR determined that he had missed a clear goal-scoring opportunity without attempting to grab the ball.
Ruben Amorim’s team took a 2-0 lead thanks to a penalty kick from Bruno Fernandes, and the Portuguese then added his second goal to severely hurt the 10-man hosts.
While some supporters contended that Vivian had not touched Rasmus Hojlund enough to warrant a sentence, the focus soon shifted to an earlier incident.
Alejandro Garnacho lost his balance and ran out wide after slipping just beyond the area.
However, the Argentinean seemed to flick the ball off his hand as he stood back up, causing it to stop, before advancing.
Take a look below.
https://x.com/xc46_z/status/1918027145391067610
But according to the IFAB Laws of the Game, it was the right choice to not penalize Garnacho.
The applicable section of Law 12, which pertains to handball, states: “A handball offence is not committed when a player heads, kicks or plays the ball with another part of their body and it then hits their own hand/arm (unless the ball goes directly into the opponents’ goal or the player scores immediately afterwards).”
To put it another way, Garnacho would have committed a handball offence if his play had led to an autonomous goal. However, there was no offense as the move proceeded.
Now that they are ahead 3-0 against 10 men, Ruben Amorim’s team will concentrate on extending their lead in order to have even more control going into the second leg at Old Trafford.
Bilbao will have even more motivation to at least cut their deficit in what will be an extremely difficult second half because the final will be played at their home stadium.
xz
