Aberdeen slumped to a 1-0 defeat at Dundee on Wednesday to intensify the threat of relegation, with the home side’s goal – though deserved on the balance of play – coming via a penalty awarded after a VAR review.
The referee for the match was Steven McLean, who was assisted by Chris Graham on VAR.
The penalty flashpoint arrived in the second half.
A ball was sent into the Dons’ box – into a sea of bodies – and looked to strike Aberdeen’s Jack MacKenzie on the arm as it came down, though it was hard to know for sure in real time.
After Dundee screwed a subsequent chance off the post, referee McLean halted play, clearly being alerted to a VAR check.
Once again, the fans inside the ground found ourselves waiting a ridiculously long time for the check to be completed.
There were seven minutes between play being stopped and the eventual penalty, which was awarded, being taken – including four minutes before McLean was even sent to the monitor.
Thanks to the incident, VAR check and the penalty being given against MacKenzie, controversial handballs in the box have once again become a talking point.
In my opinion, having seen a replay, in general terms, it felt like a harsh handball to be punished for.
What is MacKenzie supposed to do with his arm? You can’t play football with your arms constantly down by your side.
I understand the argument in this specific moment is MacKenzie was pushing his arms out to make contact with the Dundee player, which could be a foul in itself, rather than it being a natural movement of jumping etc.
He shouldn’t put his arms out like that – but contact in the box with pushing between players is always going to happen, and the ball hitting his arm in completely accidental.
Handball harshly dealt with inside box – but different story outside box
However, I wasn’t surprised the penalty against McKenzie was awarded, as any handball in the box, intentional or not, natural or not, I now expect to be given by referees.
Which just adds to the frustration they are constantly ignored outside the penalty box during the rest of the match.
The use of VAR this season regarding handballs in the box has been very strange to me, as nine times out of 10 when the ball hits your arm in the box, VAR awards a penalty.
However, outside the box, handballs are treated completely differently.
The game at Dens was a perfect example – a slightly harsh handball given by VAR inside the penalty area, but at least four occasions where clear handballs outside the box were waved away.
Some were more obvious than others, but there is absolutely no consistency.
Finlay Elder was a registered referee for six years and a category 5 official from 2019, with experience in the Highland League, Juniors and Club Academy.
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