Why Man Utd given were given a penalty against Man City

Manchester City beat rivals Manchester United 2-1 in the FA Cup final on Saturday, but boy were they given a scare.

As quick as they come, Ilkay Gundogan struck first in the tense match-up as within 15 seconds. The German met Victor Lindelof's half-hearted clearance with a thumping, laced strike - the fastest goal in FA Cup final history.

Despite starting poorly, Man Utd were awarded a penalty after a VAR check when Jack Grealish was judged to have illegally blocked Aaron Wan-Bissaka's header with his hand. Bruno Fernandes equalised from the spot.

Grealish continued to plead his innocence throughout the first-half as he felt had been wrongfully persecuted, being adjudged to have committed an offence when in mid-air.

Why were Man Utd given a penalty vs Man City?

Man City fans and players seemed to feel bemused about the penalty shout.

A quick glance over of Law 12 in the official FA handbook reads that a handball should be given when a the ball makes contact with the arm/hand of a player when their body has been made 'unnaturally bigger'.

Although the idea of an 'unnatural position' is subjective, the rulebook goes on to state that it is when the position of the player's hand and/or arm is 'not a consequence of, or justifiable by, the player's body movement for that specific situation'.

The rule finished with: 'By having their hand/arm in such a position, the player takes a risk of their hand/arm being hit by the ball and being penalised'.

In the instance of Grealish's offence, which many believe was he unable to change the movement of his arm on the way, Tierney made an informed decision led by the letter of the law. As emotionally-charged as he was, Grealish did in fact his body in an unnaturally bigger position as his hand did alter the direction of Fred's header, which, in turn, resulted in the penalty being given.

Having his hand, whether he meant it or not, in the position he did coincides with the FA's regulations that if you have an unusable area of your body that makes you 'unnaturally bigger', you run the risk of being penalised.

Reaction to the penalty given for Jack Grealish's handball

Pundits on BBC and ITV alike fumed over the decision to award Man Utd a spot kick, which gave Erik ten Hag's game-chasing team a lifeline.

Lee Dixon exclaimed his disbelief at the decision on ITV commentary by claiming that "the officials must have never kicked a ball in their life."

Meanwhile, Jermaine Jenas on the BBC was in agreement with Dixon, adding: "Grealish is jumping to defend for his team and he's spinning in the air. Is he meant to do all of that with his arms down by his side?"

Alan Shearer on BBC proclaimed his annoyance and claimed he had to hold back from swearing on live television, although he did admit by adhering to the regulations that Tierney made the correct decision.

He said: "It's so bad. According to the law, yes, it's a penalty. The officials have done their job and got that right, albeit it took VAR to do it. The law, I mean, I have to be careful what I say because I'm inclined to swear, the handball rule annoys me that much."

"It's terrible the law, I mean they talk about natural, unnatural, high hand, proximity. But, that is natural! That is a natural position for when you've gone up to head a ball and you're coming back down, your arm's are in a natural position there."

It seems that the respected pundits are most incensed by the rule itself, rather than Tierney's decision to issue the penalty.

Roy Keane, however, stood his ground and believed that the penalty decision was rightfully given and that Grealish had every chance to prevent the altercation.

He said: "That's a penalty all day long. I think he can bring his arm down. I know you have to leap and use your arms, I'm not stupid. He leaps and raises his arm."

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