Why Vicario escaped punishment after the handball incident during Tottenham's 3-1 win over Brentford – Football Italia

Italy goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario escaped punishment after touching the ball with his hand outside his own penalty area during Tottenham's 3-1 victory over Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday. Here's why the former Empoli goalkeeper avoided a booking.

Midway through the second half of Tottenham's victory over Brentford, Vicario came to the edge of his penalty area to intercept a cross. He managed to catch the ball and his momentum carried his body out of the box.

Vicario instinctively tried to make up for his mistake by touching the ball with his hands several times. The first time he touched the ball inside the penalty area, although his feet were outside the penalty area at the time.

However, the second and third touches of the ball clearly occurred outside the penalty area when played back at slow speed.

Why Vicario escaped a handball penalty against Brentford

Referee John Brooks did not notice the offence in real time and decided to allow play to continue without awarding a free kick. Instead, Brentford defender Kristoffer Ajer and Bess coach Thomas Frank were cautioned for dissent.

Some fans felt that Vicario should have been sent off due to the circumstances of the incident, but as it did not prevent a clear and obvious goalscoring opportunity, the decision not to send him off was correct.

The referee could have shown Vicario a yellow card, but since the referee did not stop the game at that point and the incident did not prevent a clear and obvious goal-scoring opportunity, the VAR did not see any reason to intervene.

For this reason, Vicario was allowed to continue as usual without receiving a warning.