The Manchester City players were furious with the referee on Saturday, February 17, after what they thought was a clear handball against Chelsea was not given.
The Cityzens lost two crucial points in a really interesting game at the Etihad.
After an incredible counterattack by the visitors, Raheem Sterling gave Chelsea the lead, coming back to haunt his old team.
Mauricio Pochettino’s players should be commended for their effort; they were dangerous the whole game and, but for some careless finishing, they could have eliminated City.
Erling Haaland, City’s top scorer, will be kicking himself after missing a clear chance as time ran out. City had their chances as well.
Late in the game, Rodri’s dangerous shot found the equaliser following a deft deflection off Trevor Chalobah and into the net.
Colwill handball game
The City players believed Chelsea defender Colwill handled the ball in the box, which led to some argument towards the end of the game.
When the ball unintentionally touched the defender’s hand as it tumbled to the ground, the defender and Ruben Dias of City got into an aerial battle.
The Manchester City players yelled so loudly that referee Andy Madley had to examine the VAR. In the end, he decided to dismiss the incident.
What the law specifies
No doubt Colwill’s arm touched the ball, although the defender was mainly ignorant of it.
The following are the International Football Association Board’s (IFAB) handball incident regulations.
To be considered a handball offence, a player must “deliberately touches the ball with their hand or arm, for example moving the hand or arm towards the ball”.
The team may also be penalised for handball if a player “touches the ball with their hand or arm when it has made their body unnaturally bigger.”
If it is found that a player has “made their body unnaturally bigger when the position of their hand or arm is not a consequence of, or justifiable by, the player’s body movement for that particular situation, the player may also be penalised.” In this position, the player takes a risk of punishment if the ball strikes their hand or arm.
Colwill’s defender was a little off-balance, and his arms stayed close to his body. Furthermore, the defender did not deliberately try to play the ball with his hand.
What does Manchester City and Chelsea’s future hold?
Owing to the draw, City is currently four points behind leaders Liverpool, who thrashed Brentford 4-1 in their previous meeting, and occupies fourth place in the rankings.
Pep Guardiola’s club will play Brentford at home in the Premier League in their next game.
Chelsea, on the other hand, will concentrate on their Sunday, February 25 Carabao Cup final game against Liverpool.
The reply from Nicolas Jackson to Enzo Sports Brief, which was centred around the Man City vs. Chelsea game, also highlighted a widely disseminated incident involving Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez.
After the Argentine missed a penalty kick, Jackson lost his temper with Enzo.
In a video that went viral online, Jackson and Enzo seemed to be shooting at the same ball, but Jackson was angry that his teammate had taken the shot before him.
