Why it was not a penalty for Fluminense against River and what the regulations say

Controversy broke out in the duel between River y Fluminense by the apparent hand of Leandro Gonzalez Pires in the area that prevented the center of Samuel Xavier for the visit and that it did not trigger the claim for the maximum penalty for the visit.

Twenty-two minutes into the plugin with the Millionaire in the lead, the Flu desperately went out to look for the goal that would put the tables on the scoreboard and ensure first place in group D completed by The Strongest and Sporting Cristal. It is then that the right side of the team from Rio de Janeiro advances in his initial position and makes a diagonal that concludes with his attempt at a center in search of the head of Germán Cano.

His center runs into the arm of González Pires, who leaves his arm when sweeping and is what sends the ball to the corner. Despite the heated claim by all the players of the Tricolor cast, Finally, neither Wilmar Roldán nor the referees in the VAR considered that it was worth sanctioning the penalty for the visit. The referees stopped at what the IFAB regulations say: not all contact with the ball with the hand or arm constitutes an offence.

The controversy in River vs. fluminense

What does the regulation say about the controversy between River vs. fluminense

The truth is that, according to rule 12.1, not all contact with the ball with the hand or arm constitutes an offence. Only if when the player “voluntarily touches the ball with the hand or arm, for example by making a movement in the direction of the ball with these parts of the body; touches the ball with the hand or arm when the hand or arm is positioned unnaturally and causes the body to take up more space”.

Likewise, the same regulation adds that “A player shall be deemed to have unnaturally made his body occupy more space when the position of his hand or arm is not a consequence of the movement of his body in that particular action or cannot be accounted for by such movement. By placing his hand or arm in such a position, the player risks the ball hitting that part of his body and this constitutes an offence.”.