Why Liverpool were not given a penalty vs Arsenal for Gabriel’s handball

Liverpool were not awarded a penalty in their 3-2 defeat to Arsenal because of Gabriel’s close proximity to the ball.

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Gabriel Martinelli gave Arsenal the perfect start at the Emirates Stadium with a goal after just 58 seconds.

But Liverpool felt they should have been awarded a penalty in the 15th minute as the ball clearly struck the hand of Gabriel inside Arsenal’s area following a cross from Diogo Jota.

Michael Oliver opted not to award a penalty, while VAR reviewed the incident but did not overturn the referee’s decision.

The Premier League has now followed up the decision to confirm that a penalty was not awarded due to Gabriel’s close proximity to Jota and the ball when the cross was played.

When announcing its revised laws about handball decisions at the start of last season, the Premier League stated: ‘The proximity of the player whose hand or arm makes contact with the ball to where the ball was struck from will still be an important consideration for officials when making a decision to award handball or not.’

Speaking at half time, former Liverpool midfielder John Barnes agreed with the decision.

‘It’s too close,’ Barnes said.

‘I don’t like this idea of an unnatural position because you’re a footballer, I’m not sure what an unnatural position is if you’re a footballer, running around your hands are up. It’s too close [to give a penalty].’

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Liverpool equalised through Darwin Nunez but Arsenal were able to finish the first half with a 2-1 lead as Bukayo