Fans Are Questioning How Harry Maguire Got Away With That Handball

With each sport, there’s a set of rules that everyone should know about. These dictate what is and isn’t allowed during a game to ensure that the eventual outcome is a fair result. One such rule in soccer is that you’re not allowed to intercept the ball with your hands or arms. In fact, the only time that a player’s hands should be anywhere near the ball is during throw-ins from the sidelines.

So, you can understand people’s confusion and outrage when a popular English player appeared to break the rules during a match on April 16. The game was between the Premier League teams Manchester United and Nottingham Forest, with Harry Maguire from the former team accused of the handball incident. Was he in the wrong?

The game against Nottingham Forest was not Harry Maguire’s finest

Harry Maguire has definitely proven himself to be a skilled soccer player over the years. While at Sheffield United, he was named their Player of the Year three times in a row, with the defender also earning the accolade at Leicester City. Manchester United eventually purchased him for a reported £80 million (over $99 million) and made him the team captain within months of the transfer. Unfortunately, despite his ability on the field, the match against Nottingham Forest was not his finest moment. After being booked for an incident with Forest’s Taiwo Awoniyi, he was later accused of using his arm to stop the ball during a corner. All this was within the first 20 minutes of the game.

Viewers weren’t impressed by the referee’s decision not to penalize Harry Maguire 

Evidently, the referee didn’t believe that Harry Maguire had done anything wrong. Following a VAR check, the defender was cleared of any wrongdoing. That meant that Nottingham Forest wasn’t awarded a penalty for Maguire breaking the rules inside the penalty box. Fans were quick to take to social media afterward to express their frustration regarding the handball incident. They stated that they didn’t understand what does and doesn’t constitute a handball anymore and raged over the apparent favoritism toward Manchester United. This is hardly the first time in soccer that people have disagreed with a referee’s ruling. In fact, there’s usually at least one incident in every game that causes such controversy. However, such issues are typically more debatable than this handball, which many viewers feel was clear-cut.

Nottingham Forest faces relegation after losing that game

Had the referee agreed that Harry Maguire was guilty of a handball, Nottingham Forest could have received a penalty and scored the first point of the game. Instead, Manchester United achieved this later in the first half, with a second goal in the 76th minute securing their win. Although Forest wouldn’t have won with that first goal, having that extra point could have influenced the way they played the rest of the game. Who knows, maybe they would have ended up stopping United from achieving those other goals. They certainly could have done with a win, given they currently sit 18th out of 20 teams in the Premier League. As it stands, they face being relegated at the end of the season, and they only have a handful of matches left to change their fate. Meanwhile, United sit third in the league, although there’s quite a margin between them and Arsenal in first place.

Like with many other questionable decisions in soccer, this handball will likely be forgotten about by many fans soon enough. Then again, maybe it will be a moment that sticks with people for a long time. If so, it could force referees to be a bit more decisive when it comes to what does and doesn’t constitute a handball.