Jarell Quansah Denied First Senior Goal in Europa League

Jarell Quansah was left disappointed as his late equalizer against Toulouse in the Europa League was incorrectly disallowed, denying him his first senior goal.

Clear Guidelines from UEFA

In football, officiating can be subjective, which is why tournament organizers provide rules and guidelines for referees to follow. In this case, UEFA’s guidelines clearly state that Quansah’s goal should not have been disallowed due to an Alexis Mac Allister handball.

In April, UEFA recommended that no handball offense should be called if the ball is deflected from a player’s own body and does not go towards the goal. This applies to Mac Allister as the ball bounced off his chest. Dale Johnson, an ESPN editor and VAR expert, pointed out that the arm was being withdrawn and close to the body, further supporting the argument that it was the wrong call.

Questionable Decision and Timing

What makes the situation even more frustrating is how far back the handball was supposedly committed before the goal was scored. While this is allowed in UEFA competition, it seems strange that Toulouse could win the ball back and then lose it again between the offense and the goal.

In the Premier League, however, this is not the case. The league’s website states that VAR will only check the attacking possession phase that led to a penalty or goal. It will not go back to when the attacking team gained possession. The VAR considers the ability of the opposing defense to reset and the momentum of the attack.

Therefore, even if Mac Allister committed a handball offense, it should not have been checked in the first place.

The officials involved in the match were referee Georgi Kabakov and lead VAR Dragomir Draganov.