Why John Souttar Rangers handball should NOT have been punished as ex ref throws out IFAB rule book
dailyrecord.co.ukRangers defender John Souttar should NOT have been punished for handball against Benfica - with former referee Bobby Madden leading the defence for the centre-back It was a big night for Philippe Clement's side as they left Lisbon with a credible first-leg draw going into the Europa League second leg - but things could have been even better for the Scottish Premeriship leaders as they went against the Portuguese champions.
Benfica were controversially allowed to level the game at 1-1 through an Angel Di Maria penalty when the Rangers defender was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box.
Souttar attempted to head a corner clear but the ball headed the ball down onto his own arm. Referee Tobias Stieler did not initially stop play but was sent to the monitor to review the incident by the VAR team - giving World Cup winner Di Maria the chance to level the game.
IFAB rules state that it is an offence if a player "deliberately touches the ball with their hand/arm, for example moving the hand/arm towards the ball" or "touches the ball with their hand/arm when it has made their body unnaturally bigger." It adds: "A player is considered 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.
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