Footage exposes reason Manchester City penalty appeal was turned down
Recently released video footage shows that Manchester City was not awarded a late penalty against RB Leipzig because the ball hit the defender Benjamin Henrichs on his shoulder instead of his hand.
During the closing moments of the first leg of their Champions League last-16 match, City players pleaded with the referee, but the game ended in a 1-1 draw in Leipzig.
Pep Guardiola’s team believed that Henrichs had used his hands to deflect the ball in the penalty area.
Despite the appeals from the City players, the referee declined to award a penalty, which surprised the pundits in the BT Sport studio.
Peter Walton, a former Premier League referee, expressed his amazement and initially stated that he believed the appeal was not reviewed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR)
Walton also expressed his opinion that City should have been given a penalty.
"We've had to wait, but the good thing is we've cleared it up!!"
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 22, 2023
New angles emerge as Man City's penalty claims look to come off the defender's shoulder…
Thoughts…? 🤔⤵️ pic.twitter.com/dAHOpUoQk5
UEFA later released footage from a new angle, which clearly showed that the ball had hit Henrichs on the shoulder, thus resolving the controversy.
Rio Ferdinand, a BT Sport pundit, acknowledged that the footage had cleared up the situation but raised concerns about the time it took for the new angle to be made available.
“It looks like it [comes of his shoulder],” Ferdinand said on BT Sport.
“It is still not a perfect angle.
“Thank you to UEFA for clearing that up two years late.”
Manchester City had taken the lead in the match, with Riyad Mahrez scoring the opening goal in the first half. However, RB Leipzig managed to level the tie in the second half when Josko Gvardiol scored an impressive header.
Footage exposes reason Manchester City penalty appeal was turned down
