Germany took the lead in the 52nd minute when referee Michael Oliver gave a penalty against Denmark in their Euro 2024 round of 16 match at the Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund on Saturday.
In the 52nd minute, Germany went on a counterattack and just when David Raum tried to get the ball into the box, it hit the arm of Joachim Andersen, after which the referee sought the assistance of Video Assistant Referee to determine whether there was a penalty chance.
HOW AND WHY DOES THAT LEAD TO A PENALTY?
Andersen’s foul, a handball, can often be ignored only if the hand is too close to the body. Otherwise, the laws of football, as underlined by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), rules a penalty for the following handball offences:
- deliberately touches the ball with their hand/arm, for example moving the hand/arm towards the ball
- touches the ball with their hand/arm when it has made their body unnaturally bigger. 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. By having their hand/arm in such a position, the player takes a risk of their hand/arm being hit by the ball and being penalised
- scores in the opponents’ goal:
- directly from their hand/arm, even if accidental, including by the goalkeeper
- immediately after the ball has touched their hand/arm, even if accidental
The penalty was taken by Kai Havertz, who converted the opportunity calmly to give the Germans a 1-0 lead.
