In Reply to: How was Yamal's prior handball anything but intentional? posted by Max_Wedge on July 14, 2026 at 15:54:00
If you were listening to the English-language broadcast on Fox, then you heard the 3rd analyst, the rules guy named Mark Clattenburg, who is a former long-time official, explain why that wasn't a handball. He said Lamine Yamal turned his back, and the ball struck his upper arm "high enough" that "it wasn't a deliberate act." The conclusion was that the referee was correct to award the PK. Apparently the VAR guy didn't disagree and ask the ref to take a look on the field-side monitor, so that's 3 officials and former officials who all agreed that there was no handball and that awarding the PK was appropriate.
Side note:
BTW, the player's name is Lamine Yamal Nasraoui Ebana. As per Spanish naming conventions, "Nasraoui" is his paternal surname, and "Ebana" is his maternal surname. According to Google AI's research, "The 'Lamine' and 'Yamal' parts are actually both his first given names, chosen by his parents as an emotional tribute to two individuals who provided the family with financial support and shelter before he was born." As a semi-sorta comparison, take Colombian superstar James Rodgríguez. His full name is James David Rodríguez Rubio, but he only has his first first name, "James," on his jersey. If he had both first names on his jersey, "James David," then it would be odd and incorrect for the announcers just to call him "David" as if that were his last name. That's what's happening when we or the announcers refer to Spain's #19 as "Yamal."
End side note. :-)