Referees Had to Rewrite the Handball Rule After This Spain Penalty Call Against France

DALLAS — The ball hit Lamine Yamal’s arm. France wanted a handball call. They didn’t get one. And Spain ended up with a penalty that sent them to the World Cup final.

It happened in the 52nd minute of Thursday’s semifinal at AT&T Stadium. Yamal received the ball on the right side of France’s box and cut inside. Lucas Digne, the French left back, was caught flat-footed and desperate. He swung a leg to recover and caught Yamal on the arm. The 17-year-old went down. Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton pointed to the spot.

The problem for France started before the contact.

Replays showed the ball deflected off Yamal’s arm as he controlled it. France argued that should have been called first, negating any penalty. Under the rules, though, deliberate handling has to be clear. Yamal’s arm was in a natural position as he turned. The ball hit his sleeve, which FIFA considers a legal part of the body for field players. No handball.

ITV rules analyst Christina Unkel backed the call. She pointed to two other incidents in this same tournament as precedent: Harry Kane clipping a Mexican defender’s arm without drawing a whistle, and Luka Modric doing the same against England. In both cases, the official ruled the contact was to the sleeve, not the arm proper.

“It’s a good analysis to take a look at that,” Unkel said. “The contact is on the sleeve of Yamal. It would not be considered part of the arm. That would not be recalled back for a handling offense. The penalty should stay.”

Mikel Oyarzabal stepped up and buried the spot kick. It was the only goal Spain needed in a 2-1 win that booked Luis de la Fuente’s team a spot in the final. But the controversy hasn’t died down. French players surrounded Barton after the call and didn’t let up for several minutes.

Gary Neville, working the game for ITV, was less concerned with the handball debate and more frustrated with Digne’s defending. Watch a clip back and you see Digne’s eyes tracking the ball while Yamal drifts behind him. Neville didn’t hold back.

“Particularly when somebody so brilliant on the outside, you have to be aware of where he is,” Neville said. “He’s closed his body off initially. He has to be aware of where Yamal is. Modric and Kane did it, but he has to be more aware around him. He’s not even aware he’s there. He hasn’t got a clue.”

The French camp felt the handball should have been checked by VAR. It was looked at. The decision stood. Spain will play for the title. France will spend the next four years wondering what might have been if the ball had bounced two inches to the right.

And somewhere in the replay room, the referees were probably just glad they didn’t have to explain the sleeve rule again.