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The Ghanaian’s penalty escape in Leicester’s league tie against the Eagles has generated controversy
Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg believes Leicester City defender Daniel Amartey was lucky to have gotten away with a handball incident in the penalty area during Monday’s Premier League match against Crystal Palace .
Television replays showed the ball hitting Amartey’s hand as he contested an aerial ball with Christian Benteke during the second half.
The referee did not sanction the Ghanaian, while his video assistant referees did not detect the incident, much to the dismay of Palace players Benteke and Cheikhou Kouyate.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw at Selhurst Park when Harvey Barnes (Leicester) and Wilfried Zaha (Palace) scored to cancel each other out.
“It’s really interesting because you can understand how the referee has initially failed him,” Clattenburg said, as reported by Talksport.
“But Crystal Palace will be really disappointed because when the ball goes in, Benteke jumps with Amartey. Amartey’s hand is outstretched but in reality [Cheikhou] Kouyate appealing.
“Therefore, the VAR [Robert Jones] it should have automatically verified that the ball is out of play.
“But from the camera behind the goal I thought ‘is that a potential penalty for handball?’ So the VAR should have checked.
“He didn’t do it because with less than 20 seconds after Benteke directed the ball to Kasper Schmeichel at the goal kick, the ball was back in play, so it was not controlled. There was not enough time.
“I feel like he should have taken his time and used all the available evidence. From the camera angle that we can see, Amartey’s hands are above his shoulder and he’s clearly done it by hand. “
Amartey in shape lasted the entire duration of Monday’s game, in which he was deployed as a central defender alongside Jonny Evans.
It was his fourth Premier League appearance of the season and his first start since returning from a hamstring injury he sustained while playing West Ham United in October.
The 26-year-old returned from a long-term injury just before the start of the season, having been on the sidelines since sustaining an ankle injury, coincidentally against West Ham, during a league game in October 2018. .
