adminJoe Hart has changed his initial opinion on Sunderland’s controversial penalty appeal after Match of the Day revealed the officials’ explanation for why no spot-kick was awarded against Manchester City.
The former Manchester City goalkeeper initially believed Sunderland had a strong case for a penalty after Elliot Anderson appeared to handle the ball inside the City penalty area. However, after watching several replays from different angles, Hart admitted that his original assessment had changed.
The incident was discussed on BBC’s Match of the Day following Sunderland’s dramatic 5-3 defeat at the Etihad Stadium. Sunderland manager Régis Le Bris was unhappy that his team were not awarded a penalty after Anderson appeared to make contact with the ball with his hand during a challenge involving Enzo Le Fée.
Presenter Kelly Cates explained the reasoning provided by the match officials, revealing that the ball had first made contact with Le Fée’s hand. The officials also considered the players’ proximity to the ball, their body positions and the circumstances surrounding the incident before deciding against awarding a penalty.
Hart admitted that his first reaction had been very different.
“When I first saw it, I’ll be honest, I thought that Man City had got away with one,” Hart explained while reviewing the footage.
The former England international initially focused on Anderson’s hand moving towards the ball and could not understand why Sunderland had not been awarded a spot-kick.
However, after studying the incident more closely, Hart noticed that Le Fée’s hand had also been involved before the ball reached Anderson.
Hart explained that both players appeared to be challenging for the ball, but he felt Le Fée’s hand was in an unnatural position when the initial contact occurred.
According to the former goalkeeper, that earlier contact was crucial to understanding why the officials did not award Sunderland a penalty.
Hart ultimately suggested that if the referee had decided to punish the handball, the decision should instead have gone in Manchester City’s favour because Le Fée was the first player to make hand contact with the ball.
“I think if the referee is going to give anything there, it’s a free kick to Manchester City because the first handball, if you like, is Le Fée,” Hart said.
He added that the earlier contact effectively removed the basis for Sunderland’s penalty appeal.
The incident was one of several talking points from an extraordinary contest at the Etihad Stadium. Sunderland managed to threaten Manchester City throughout the match, but defensive errors and City’s attacking quality ultimately proved decisive.
Brian Brobbey scored a hat-trick as City claimed all three points in an eight-goal thriller, leaving Le Bris and Sunderland to reflect on a game in which they created opportunities but were unable to turn them into a result.
While Sunderland believed the Anderson incident could have changed the outcome, Hart’s revised assessment offered a different interpretation after the Match of the Day analysis showed the sequence of hand contacts in greater detail.
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