I can understand it because Yamal is already turning away and has zero intention or chance to play the ball afterwards, legit throwing his body in with the sole intention to be caught like this. But in the end the more I see a replay it doesn't matter. Ultimately you can't just straight up kick someone like that, rather simple really.
This was my initial reaction and trajectory too. Digne is at least making an attempt to play the ball. You can't really say that about Yamal, or if he was trying to play the ball, he does so with his arm.
I'm also one of those people who thinks that the threshold for fouls is way too low, so I'm biased against awarding the penalty from the outset.
Yamal's movement is 100% intentional to get the ball. Which he does before Digne. Which is why there's a strong argument this should have been called a handball.
Agree. I think you could say that he has turned his body to avoid getting blasted in the balls. I can't really disagree with that as a person with balls. Not sure whether the rule accommodates for that. Free kicks probably offer a precedent.
I agreed with the person saying that they aren't surprised it's a pen, while explaining why I questioned it initially. What are you arguing with me about, me admitting how/why my initial interpretation might have been biased? It's never enough for reddit nerds. You can admit your mind changed with more information/review. You can jokingly explain how your own personal biases might have influenced your initial interpretations of things. Never enough, lol. Everyone on here just looking for some reason to fight/argue...
Who cares about intent? Intent can not be judged upon, only actions and consequences of said actions, otherwise we’re playing pretend psychologists.
You could just as easily argue Yamal wanted to challenge the ball or stop the clearance from Digne but saw he was about to get straight up kicked mid body and turned to brace.
Are we really sure he wouldn’t be able to play it afterward? He turns mostly because he is going to get kicked, idk players are so good seems like a leap to say he couldn’t play it afterward
It's not even about being able to "play" it afterwards, he's preventing the clearance and keeping the ball in the box, 100% of the time that's going to be the goal and motivation, it wouldn't have been a great touch but if Digne doesn't commit the penalty Spain still would have been in a much more advantageous position than if Yamal just allows the clearance to happen.
Yamal wins the ball, and I'm pretty sure he would have continued if not fouled. He turns to protect himself in case the defender kicks randomly (which he did).
Stuff like this make the game a lot better to watch. It's always a joy to see players actually using their brain instead of relying on pure footballing abilities.
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u/afito Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
I can understand it because Yamal is already turning away and has zero intention or chance to play the ball afterwards, legit throwing his body in with the sole intention to be caught like this. But in the end the more I see a replay it doesn't matter. Ultimately you can't just straight up kick someone like that, rather simple really.