Why Manchester City Were Not Given Late Penalty in Chelsea EPL Clash After Colwill’s ‘Handball’

• Manchester City would feel they were denied a clear penalty against Chelsea
• The two sides played out to an entertaining draw on Saturday, February 17
• Levi Colwill appeared to have handled the ball towards the end of the game

Manchester City players were incensed by referee, Andy Madley, after what they felt was a blatant handball not given against Chelsea on Saturday, February 17.

The Citizens dropped two crucial points in the Premier League title race after they played a thoroughly engaging weekend game at the Etihad Stadium.

Chelsea's Raheem Sterling returned to haunt his former side as he gave the Blues the lead following a brilliant counter-attack by the visitors.

All credit to Mauricio Pochettino’s side, who looked threatening all game and should have taken it away from Man City if not for some poor finishing.

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The Citizens also had their chances and top scorer, Erling Haaland, will be kicking himself for missing a glaring chance with the clock winding down.

The equaliser eventually came late courtesy of Rodri, whose menacing shot took a wicked deflection off Trevor Chalobah on its way into the net.

City protest Colwill's alleged 'handball'

Towards the end of the game, there was a slice of controversy as City players felt Chelsea defender, Levi Colwill, had handled the ball in the box.

The defender was involved in an aerial tussle with City’s Ruben Dias when the ball seemed to inadvertently hit his hand as it dropped to the ground.

Amid furious shouts from the Man City players, referee Madley had to consult the VAR about the incident and ultimately chose to overlook it.

Colwill incident: what the law says

While there was no denying Colwill’s arm came into contact with the ball, the defender appeared to know very little about it. This is what the International Football Association Board - IFAB rules say regarding a handball incident.

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It is only considered an offence if a player 'deliberately touches the ball with their hand/arm, for example moving the hand/arm towards the ball' and a team can also be penalised if a player 'touches the ball with their hand/arm when it has made their body unnaturally bigger'.

A player can also be penalised if he is adjudged to have 'made their body unnaturally bigger when the position of their hand/arm is not a consequence of, or justifiable by, the player’s body movement for that specific situation. 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 Colwill’s case, the defender’s arms were not away from his body, and he was slightly off balance. Furthermore, the defender does not appeared to have attempted to deliberately play the ball with his hand.

What next for Manchester City/Chelsea?

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The draw saw City drop to third on the log, four points behind Liverpool, who beat Brentford 4-1 in the earlier game.

Pep Guardiola’s men’s next game is a home Premier League encounter against the Bees.

Chelsea, meanwhile, turn their attention to the Carabao Cup final where they face Liverpool on Sunday, February 25.

Nicolas Jackson’s reaction to Enzo Fernandez

Still on the Man City-Chelsea game, Sports Brief also reported on Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez clashing after the Argentine missed a goal attempt.

In a video currently circulating online, both players appeared to be lining the ball up for a shot, with the latter unhappy about his teammate beating him to it.