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Dale Johnson reacts after VAR Tomasz Kwiatkowski was removed from duty by UEFA for another Champions League game. (2:08)
The VAR that awarded Paris Saint-Germain’s controversial penalty against Newcastle United in the Champions League was removed from his office by a UEFA attack on Wednesday night.
Polish VAR Tomasz Kwiatkowski sent referee Szymon Marciniak to the pitchside monitor in the 96th minute of Tuesday’s match after the ball struck the arm of Tino Livramento, which was judged to be making his body bigger and creating a barrier.
Marciniak overturned his decision and awarded the penalty to PSG, who intervened through Kylian Mbappe to give the home side a 1-1 draw that left qualification for the round of 16 in the hands of the French club.
They are two of the highest-ranking referees in football. Kwiatkowski was the VAR for last year’s World Cup final between Argentina and France, with Marciniak as the proper referee.
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Kwiatkowski will act as VAR for Wednesday’s match between Real Sociedad and FC Salzburg, but that role will now be taken over by German referee Marco Fritz. It remains to be seen if Marciniak will not be chosen for the match on matchday six.
It’s an indication that UEFA believes the decision to advise the spot kick was a mistake by Kwiatkowski, which could have serious implications on Newcastle’s hopes of reaching the knockout rounds.
In the 71st minute of the match, the ball hit Newcastle’s Lewis Miley’s arm, but VAR did not intervene.
However, the ball deflected off Livramento’s frame before hitting his arm, it wasn’t enough to warrant a penalty. The position of Livramento’s arms was not far from his frame and was the result of his movements, so he deserved not to have been a handball offense.
In April, the UEFA Football Council, an organisation of former players and coaches that acts as an advisory framework, said deviations from the frame to the arm would not be penalised. However, this advice was not implemented because it would oppose the IFAB rules for handball law as a blanket exemption.
If all deviations from the frame created an automatic break, players could get away with blocking crosses with their arms outstretched. Only if a player intentionally kicks or heads the ball and it touches his outstretched arm is it considered a handball violation.
Handball is penalised far more strictly in UEFA competition than in any domestic league. The frequency of handball penalties is more than twice that seen in LaLiga, the league with the highest number, and almost four times that of the Premier League.
The statistic shows the frequency of handball consequences depending on the match since the start of last season.