VAR has provided justification for their decision not to award a penalty for Levi Colwill’s handball incident during the recent match. Despite Manchester City’s protests, referee Andy Madley opted to overlook the incident after reviewing the VAR. The disagreement arose towards the end of the game when City players argued that Colwill had handled the ball in the box during an aerial duel with Ruben Dias. However, according to the regulations set by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), a handball offense occurs when a player deliberately moves their hand or arm towards the ball. In Colwill’s case, although there was contact between his arm and the ball, he was largely unaware of it, and his arms were kept close to his body without any intentional effort to control the ball. Therefore, the decision not to penalize Colwill was in accordance with the IFAB regulations.
Moving forward, Manchester City sits fourth in the rankings following the draw, trailing leaders Liverpool by four points. Their next Premier League fixture will see them hosting Brentford. On the other hand, Chelsea will shift their focus to the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool on February 25th.
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Additionally, amidst the Manchester City vs. Chelsea match, there was a notable incident involving Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson. Jackson expressed frustration towards Enzo after the latter missed a penalty kick. A widely circulated video showed Jackson and Enzo seemingly aiming for the same ball to shoot, leading to tension between the two teammates.