Anthony Taylor explains five reasons for his errors during the #Manchester City Vs Chelsea game and apologizes to the Chelsea supporters, saying “It was not my decision.”

Denying what they believed to be a straightforward penalty on August 18 left Chelsea players and supporters both boiling with resentment.

In their opening game of the 2024–2025 season, the Blues greeted Manchester City to Stamford Bridge.

In the 18th minute Erling Haaland lobbed the ball over Robert Sanchez to start his account for the season.

With Enzo Maresca aiming for an early footing in his first competitive game in command, Chelsea increased in confidence as the game progressed.

The handball incidence involving Mateo Kovacic against Chelsea
Mostly from Enzo Fernandez, the West Londoners had half-hearted penalty requests; referee Anthony Taylor stayed strong.

Their best scream came in the second half when a flinging Matteo Kovacic arm collided with an intended Malo Gusto pass. Taylor once more refused to provide a spot-kick in spite of objections from the home fans and Chelsea players.

Why Chelsea was not penalized for Kovacic handball?
The footage revealed the ball catching the underarm of the Croat, which sparked a probe into the football rules. IFAB Law 12 addresses handball definition criteria. One clause says,

“If a player uses their hand or arm to contact the ball while it has made their body abnormally larger, it will be deemed illegal. When the hand or arm posture of a player does not coincide with, or justifiable by, the player’s body movement for that particular scenario, the player is said to have made their body unnaturally larger.”
Now Kovacic’s arm was not in a natural posture, but the former Chelsea player was spared by the closeness when Gusto fired the shot. Under the referee’s discretion, the proximity law examines whether the player had time to naturally place his arms before the ball struck his arm.

“Officials still heavily weigh the closeness of the player whose hand or arm contacts the ball to where the ball was struck from when deciding whether to award handball or not,” says a Premier League statement.
When Kovacic scored Manchester City’s second goal soon after, Chelsea started their championship campaign in interesting way and experienced further suffering.