The refereeing department recognized an error during the Rennes-OM match concerning a penalty unfairly whistled against Amir Murillo for an involuntary handball. Despite this decision, Géronimo Rulli stopped the shot…
During the match between Rennes and Olympique de Marseille, an incident sparked controversy: a penalty was whistled in favor of Rennes after a hand deemed involuntary by Amir Murillo in the Marseille area. However, after viewing the situation, it appeared that the ball had landed on the Panamanian defender's arm randomly, while a Rennes foot had deflected his arm. Despite the arbitration decision, Geronimo Rulli heroically repelled Arnaud Kalimuendo's shot, allowing OM to remain 0-0 at this point in the match…
Monday, the direction of arbitration reacted to this incident, admitting the error of judgment in this situation. According to their analysis, the contact between the ball and Murillo's hand occurred while his arm was coming down naturally after an aerial duel, without any intention on his part to commit a foul. According to the Laws of the gamethe position of his arm was the result of a natural movement of the body, and not of a voluntary action. Thus, the decision to award a penalty was unjustified, and the situation should have been judged differently by the referee.
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The viewing at the edge of the field and the penalty were therefore not expected
RMC relayed part of the report from the direction of arbitration which met this Monday: “Contact between the hand and the ball occurs while the defender's arm comes down naturally after the aerial duel, without the defender taking any risks. In accordance with the Laws of the Game, the position of the arm at the time of contact can therefore be considered to be a consequence of the movement of the defender's body in this specific situation. The viewing at the edge of the pitch and the penalty were therefore not expected.”
This statement once again underlines the refereeing errors which seem to penalize OM this season, although the team Roberto DeZerbi continues to struggle at the top of Ligue 1, remaining in second place behind PSG. The incident also highlights the importance of OURwhich, although it revealed the error, could not prevent the referee's initial decision.
