Why Liverpool Weren’t Awarded a Penalty vs West Ham For James Ward-Prowse Handball

The Premier League have released a statement and revealed why Liverpool weren’t awarded a penalty when James Ward-Prowse appeared to handle the ball inside his own area. The Reds faced off against West Ham United in a Premier League clash at Anfield on Sunday afternoon, looking to edge closer to the league title.

Things got off to a solid start too as Mohamed Salah played a beautiful pass across the West Ham area with the outside of his foot to set up Luis Diaz who gave Liverpool the lead. They could have doubled their advantage in the second half, though, when the ball struck the hand of Ward-Prowse inside his own penalty box.

There was no doubt at all that the ball struck his hand in an outstretched position as the Hammers were defending a corner, but the referee in charge of the match, Andrew Madley, chose not to award a penalty and after a VAR check, the decision stood. Now, an explanation as to why has been provided by the Premier League.

The Handball Was Deemed ‘Accidental’ By VAR

The Premier League provided a statement on social media

Shortly after the decision was made, the commentators covering the game explained why Liverpool hadn’t been awarded a penalty and declared that VAR considered the handball an accidental one. Despite Ward-Prowse’s arm being in an unnatural position, it was decided that he didn’t intend to handle the ball.

Not long afterwards, the Premier League themselves provided a statement on social media addressing the incident and explained further why the Reds weren’t awarded a spot kick. Via their Premier League Match Centre X (Twitter) account, they said:

“The referee’s call of no penalty for a potential handball was checked and confirmed by VAR – with Ward-Prowse’s action deemed to be accidental and not a handball offence.”

It’s hard to imagine that explanation will satisfy the Liverpool fans, though.