Frank Christian
The Champions League is the stage where players can’t escape public scrutiny for mistakes, especially costly ones.
Tyrone Mings, a defender for Aston Villa, had a forgettable debut in the tournament due to a significant error that led to his team’s defeat in Belgium.
After halftime, Hans Vanaken scored a penalty, leading Club Brugge to a 1-0 victory and leaving Aston Villa empty-handed after their midweek encounter. However, the focus was on the penalty incident itself.
The Sporting News elaborates on the rationale behind the penalty awarded by German referee Tobias Stieler and how it recalls a similar incident from April that has left Aston Villa supporters frustrated.
Tyrone Mings’ Unfortunate Handball
Tyrone Mings faced embarrassment after conceding a penalty just after halftime, allowing Club Brugge to secure their lead and ultimately control the match.
The blunder occurred when Aston Villa’s goalkeeper, Martinez, initiated a goal-kick and passed the ball to Mings, who was just a few yards away. Mings, unaware that play had resumed, mistakenly picked up the ball, believing it was still in the goal area.
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This resulted in a handball call in the penalty area leading to Club Brugge getting a penalty kick. The referee deemed this enough for a penalty based on the rules.
Aston Villa’s players were agitated, claiming the restart wasn’t clear enough, but the referee upheld his decision. Mings appeared to have lost focus as Martinez clearly restarted the play.
Post-match, Villa manager Unai Emery described Mings’ mistake as “very very strange,” acknowledging the unpredictability of football.
Arsenal’s Gabriel Avoids Similar Penalty
Aston Villa supporters recalled a comparable incident that went unpunished, feeling their case was unjust.
In a 2-2 draw last year between Arsenal and Bayern Munich, defender Gabriel did something similar when he mistakenly handled a short pass from his goalkeeper David Raya, picking up the ball, thinking it was still in the goal area.
However, the Norwegian referee, Glenn Nyberg, did not penalize the incident, continuing the game without any major alteration.
It’s worth remembering that Gabriel picked the ball up in his penalty area last season during the Champions League… yet the referee dismissed it as a “kids’ mistake.” pic.twitter.com/jfPF5IoAMo
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 6, 2024
Following that match, Thomas Tuchel, the Bayern manager, claimed the referee acknowledged seeing the incident but chose not to call a penalty, suggesting it wasn’t significant enough for such a decision in a quarter-final match.
“He recognized on the field that he saw the mistake and, for a quarter-final, the situation wasn’t sufficient to warrant a penalty, calling it a kids’ mistake,” Tuchel stated.
Dale Johnson, an expert at ESPN, noted that the Gabriel event was dismissed based on “common sense,” suggesting the goal kick should have been retaken. However, once a referee decides to award a penalty, there’s nothing VAR can do because the action falls within the rules.
Ultimately, there has to be consistency in officiating. If one instance is a penalty while another is ignored, officials need clear guidelines on how to handle similar situations, especially under pressure where decisive calls are crucial.
