Sean Dyche has described how his fellow Premier League managers have been perplexed by handball restrictions, citing examples from Blues and Arsenal games.
Sean Dyche has revealed a conversation between his fellow Premier League managers in which they admitted they no longer understood what the laws are for issuing penalties for handballs, causing the group’s elder statesman, Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson, to speak out.
Manchester City were controversially granted a penalty kick against Dyche is Everton side when Amadou Onana was adjudged to have handled the ball, allowing them to go 2-1 up at Goodison Park in a 3-1 win on Wednesday night after trailed 1-0 at halftime. The Blues manager mentioned after the game a recent online discussion he attended when the uncertainty over the regulations surfaced, but ahead of Saturday’s trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers, he commented on the lengths he went to.
“How many active football people, managers, do they speak to when they come out with these rules?” Dyche asked. This can apply to any sport; it does not have to be the Premier League.
“They might do that, but I have a feeling they don’t, and if they do, they keep it a secret because I have never heard of it.” Handball is a strange sport.
“The one the other day from (Arsenal’s Martin) Odegaard, how is that not a penalty? It is just bizarre, and then the one on Wednesday night, that is where we are going how can those two things be that different in their outcome?
“Everyone is scratching their head. Howard (Webb, chief refereeing officer for the Professional Game Match Officials Limited, the body responsible for refereeing games in English professional football) has been very open, he actually wants to get more opinion from the managers, the challenge is whether it going to make a difference? Managers want to see a difference, especially when it is overpowering.
“The view on handball is overpowering. I don’t mind telling you that. It is not a secret. We had a Zoom call, all the managers were there and they all said this has got to be changed.
“There wasn’t anyone saying ‘we are gaining’ or ‘we are losing’ none of that, it was just that it was wrong on every level and all over the place. Every manager said this has got to change.
“The people who set the rules IFAB and then you have to lobby IFAB and say all the managers are saying this. I just find the rule bizarre and I don’t think anyone understands it, not many understand it.”
The Everton manager clarified that the conference he refers to was not particular to this subject, but the confusion over the interpretation of the handball law became a hot topic. “It was just a standard Zoom meeting, not just Howard, but LMA, a meeting across Premier League managers, the PFA, and referees, but part of that meeting was about officiating,” Dyche added. Handball came up early in the talk, and no one knows where it is.
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