2 key factors for the referee not to award Nigeria a controversial penalty

In response to the strong reaction from the Nigerian players, referee Cuneyt Cakir decided to use VAR to review the incident. After that, the Turkish referee surprisingly refused to award the African team a penalty.

Reviewing the slow-motion replay, Marcos Rojo jumped up, the ball hit the MU midfielder's head before bouncing off and hitting his hand. This was the key factor leading to referee Cakir's decision.

FIFA's handball law, enacted in 2015, stipulates that before making a decision on a handball, the referee must consider several factors. The first is the movement of the hand towards the ball (not the ball towards the hand). In Rojo's case, his hand was completely passive when he made contact with the ball.

The following factors include the distance between the opposing player and the ball and the position of the hands, which are not factors in deciding whether a foul is committed or not.

A player will be penalized if he intentionally handles the ball to help his team gain an advantage in a certain situation or directly leads to an opponent's goal.

Accordingly, not every situation where the ball touches the hand in the penalty area will result in a penalty. The "intentional" factor will be considered first by referees when deciding to award a team a penalty.

However, referee Cakir's decision could not satisfy the Nigerian players and fans. Speaking after the match, striker Odion Ighalo - who directly participated in the dispute with Rojo said: "It was a clear penalty. When Rojo headed the ball, it hit his hand. It was a shameful decision. Discrimination still exists in football. This is disgusting."