It is no news that Nigeria lost to Argentina in the last round of matches of the group stage. The topic at the moment is the incident of the ball handling by Marcus Rojo. Many people think it was a case of a clear penalty.
Video evidence showed the ball actually touched the hand of Marcus Rojo, the referee also admitted it was a handball but didn't award any penalty. Did the referee make the right decision?
The truth is, many football lovers don't actually know the full laws of the game. Not every handball is a foul. According to Laws of the Game by FIFA, Law 12 page 113, Fouls and Misconducts - Handling of the ball; It states:
Handling the ball involves a deliberate act of a player making contact with the ball with his hand or arm. The referee must take the following into consideration:
• the movement of the hand towards the ball (not the ball towards the hand)
• the distance between the opponent and the ball (unexpected ball)
• the position of the hand does not necessarily mean that there is an infringement
In the case of Marcus Rojo, the ball came to his hand. He headed the ball away but yet touched his hand. Video replay showed it was not intentional. His eyes weren't even open when heading the ball away.
For those who still insist it was supposed to be a penalty, do you think it is sensible if every handball should be a penalty? Have you ever asked why players don't target their opponent's hand with the ball when desperately searching for goals? This is because not every handball will be a foul in the penalty area. So in this case, the Turkish referee, Cuneyt Cakir made the right decision.
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