Why Martin Odegaard’s handball against Arsenal did not result in a penalty kick for Liverpool

On Saturday, Liverpool and Arsenal played in the Premier League.
Odegaard touched the ball in Arsenal’s box, but no penalty was called, and the referee was not called to look at the VAR screen.

The majority of the lead-up to Liverpool’s Premier League match against Arsenal was devoted by Jurgen Klopp to the Anfield faithful.

Following what Klopp thought were two dull performances by the Merseyside faithful against West Ham and Manchester United, the chief orchestrator of Liverpool insisted on “a proper Anfield experience” and asked supporters to surrender their tickets “if you are not in the right shape”.

After Martin Odegaard touched the ball in Arsenal’s box during the first half, the bulk of the 57,000 spectators who crammed into the stadium on Saturday night let out a collective yell of disapproval when referee Chris Kavanagh waved away strong claims for a penalty.

This is the reason why the captain of Arsenal got away with it, much to the vociferous disapproval of many at Anfield.

Why weren’t Liverpool given a penalty against Arsenal for Martin Odegaard’s handball?

After just three minutes, Arsenal took the lead with their 11th set-piece goal of the season, and Gabriel tried his hardest to hush those on the red side of Stanley Park with a looping header.

Midway through the first half, Odegaard found himself in his own penalty area despite having swung in that tempting delivery. With a deft touch, Mohamed Salah beat the captain of Arsenal to the ball and caught Odegaard off guard. Odegaard lost his footing and slapped the bouncing ball with his left hand in a desperate attempt to correct his placement, which infuriated many.

The FA handbook’s much-discussed Law 12 emphasises that “not every touch of a player’s hand/arm with the ball is an offence”.

Odegaard undoubtedly touched the ball by accident, but if a player “has made their body unnaturally bigger,” intent is irrelevant. Salah’s charge into Arsenal’s box was halted by Odegaard’s lowered arm, even though his studs were embedded in the ground.

In contrast, “the position of their hand/arm is not a consequence of, or justifiable by, the player’s body movement for that specific situation” absolves them of any criminal responsibility.

In order to avoid players receiving penalties for contacting the ball with the arm they are using to cushion their fall, this particular feature was included. Though he barely regains his balance, Odegaard seems to counterbalance his unsteady footing by moving his hand to the turf rather than punching the ball away. Referee Kavanagh had to have reached at least this conclusion when he made the snap decision in real time.

VAR David Coote either did not consider Kavanagh’s judgement to be a “clear and obvious error” or agreed with Kavanagh’s call, which is quite feasible. There was no request to have the on-pitch official check again via the pitchside monitor.

Reaction to Liverpool’s non-penalty against Arsenal

It’s reasonable to conclude that Stockley Park’s residents were not the majority. The initial responses on social media varied from curious to…

… to outright befuddled.

Many experienced a near-existential crisis over the rules of what should be an easy game as a result of their inability to make a decision.

Honestly, I’m not sure what the handball rule is anymore if that Odegaard handball isn’t a handball.

— Yomi Kazeem (@TheYomiKazeem) December 23, 2023