Kai Havertz seemed to have scored, but the goal was disallowed due to the ball hitting his hand and also that of Matty Cash during the buildup.
Howard Webb, the chief refereeing officer of the PMGOL, explained why VAR disallowed Kai Havertz’s late goal against Aston Villa. The incident involved the ball touching Cash’s hand before Havertz handled it, resulting in frustration for Arsenal, who faced their second Premier League defeat and dropped to second place in the table.
Despite Arsenal’s dominance in the game after John McGinn’s early goal for Villa, they couldn’t find an equalizer, generating more expected goals than their opponents.
Mikel Arteta’s team thought they had equalized when Havertz scored late, but referee Jarred Gillet ruled it out for a handball. VAR confirmed the decision, awarding Aston Villa all three points. Arsenal fans questioned why only their player was penalized despite both players using their hands in the box.
Former referee Webb clarified that according to the law, any accidental contact with an attacker’s hand leading to an immediate goal must be penalized, which applied to Havertz. He also explained why Cash, as a defender, wasn’t penalized for a similar handball incident.
Webb noted that the rule permits Cash’s accidental handball as he didn’t make himself unnaturally bigger or deliberately handle the ball, unlike the threshold for an attacker. This law, in place for about five years, aims to disallow goals scored off the arm.
Interestingly, Webb revealed that if Eddie Nketiah had scored instead of Havertz, the goal would have stood because the accidental handball from the German directly led to his goal, while the rule applies specifically to the goalscorer.