Why Rangers F.C. Avoided a Penalty for Emmanuel Fernandez’s Handball vs Dundee United

Rangers avoided giving away a penalty for Emmanuel Fernandez’s handball because the VAR referee decided the incident did not meet the threshold for a “clear and obvious” handball offense under current IFAB guidelines.

Here’s a breakdown based on the match events, the rules, and expert reactions:

1. VAR did not view Fernandez’s arm position as clearly “unnaturally bigger”

The ball from Will Ferry’s long throw drops over another player’s head and hits Fernandez’s right arm.
VAR official Don Robertson reviewed it but decided the hand/arm:

• Was not deliberately moved toward the ball

• Might have been in a natural position for Fernandez’s body movement

• Was not clearly making his body “unnaturally bigger”, which is required by the IFAB law to give a penalty

Because of this, Robertson did not send referee David Dickinson to the monitor, which usually means:

VAR doesn’t think the original “play on” call is a clear mistake.

2. The new, higher “handball threshold” also played a role

Managers across the league have noticed that this season referees are:

• Less likely to give soft handballs

• Expecting more obvious arm movement or unnatural positions

Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin even said:

“Earlier in the season, that might have been given… I think the threshold has been raised.”

This higher standard works against awarding borderline handballs like Fernandez’s.

3. Referee and VAR judged there was no intent

Pundit Neil McCann defended the no-call:

“There’s no intent whatsoever… To give a penalty would have been really unfair.”

Lack of intention doesn’t automatically rule out a handball, but it influences how “unnatural” the movement is judged.

4. Inconsistency across the league adds frustration

Fans and pundits compared the incident to:

• Liam Scales’ penalty for Celtic vs Hibs

• Lewis Mayo’s penalty vs Celtic

• Mats Knoester’s handball on the same night

Some felt the Fernandez incident looked similar to those—suggesting inconsistency.

But in this match, VAR simply didn’t think it was “big enough” to overturn the no-call.

5. Dundee United didn’t fiercely protest the decision

Jim Goodwin, usually fiery about refereeing, stayed calm and even said he’d be “disappointed” if his own player was penalized for that type of handball.

His reaction helped cool the controversy, even though fans and pundits were split.

In summary: Why Rangers escaped the penalty

Rangers were not penalized for Fernandez’s handball because:

• VAR felt the hand was in a justifiable, natural position

• No deliberate movement toward the ball

• The incident didn’t meet the raised handball standard

• It wasn’t considered a “clear and obvious error”

• The referee’s original call to play on wasn’t seen as incorrect enough to overturn

All of these factors combined allowed Rangers to avoid a penalty for what many still viewed as an “obvious” handball.