Dean Henderson starred for Crystal Palace in their FA Cup final victory over Manchester City – but should the goalkeeper have been sent off? On 24 minutes, Henderson handled the ball outside his box, palming it away from Erling Haaland as the Man City forward tried to race onto a pass.
Referee Stuart Attwell and his assistant referees appeared to think the incident occurred inside the penalty area as they allowed play to continue. Crystal Palace 1-0 Man City – ReportNot got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW 📺80% of all televised Premier League games next season are on Sky SportsWhen the ball later went out of play, the game was paused for a VAR check for a possible red card for Henderson for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
This indicated that VAR Jarred Gillett believed Henderson had committed a handball offence. However, Gillett apparently judged that, as the ball was going away from goal, Haaland did not have a clear goalscoring chance.
Critics of the decision have highlighted that the ball was only diverted away from goal by Hendersons handball. Gillett was also the VAR when William Salibas yellow card against Bournemouth was upgraded to a red card in October for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
Henderson was not punished for Saturdays incident, and the goalkeeper went on to make a string of saves, including an excellent stop to keep out Omar Marmoushs penalty in the first half. Sky Sports Roy Keane said: What you need to win a cup is a bit of luck and that was a huge one.
Speaking on ITV, former Palace striker Ian Wright said: How this is not denying a goalscoring opportunity, its absolutely pathetic. Its crazy, hes going to tap that past him and then hes just going to tap that into the goal.
Why are they making up these rules and saying it so eloquently? To confuse us? Thats supposed to be a sending-off. Former City defender Joleon Lescott went even further in his assessment, adding: Thats one of the worst decisions Ive seen in football.
Because of the explanation, not because of the decision. To deem that is not a goalscoring opportunity, one of the most prolific goalscorers weve seen. Similar views were expressed by former England captain Wayne Rooney on BBC, who said: It is a red card – how can they get this wrong? Just get rid of VAR.
They have made a mistake and now they are trying to cover up. It is a red card and everyone can see its a red card. City boss Pep Guardiola, who confronted Henderson at the full-time whistle, did not want to discuss the incident afterwards, saying only: Im not the referee.
Glasner admitted he was concerned about what the VAR would decide. I thought, Why dont you kick the ball? he said. And then I had my fingers crossed that the VAR didnt even intervene. Asked if it was a good decision, Glasner said: For us, yes.
Henderson wasnt aware the VAR check involved him. He said: I didnt know [the VAR check] was for me in all honesty. The ball had come into the box so I wasnt sure what they were doing it for. Who cares, it doesnt matter.
