The Aporia · Why Manchester United did not get a penalty for Calvin Bassey handball incident as statement issued

Why Manchester United did not get a penalty for Calvin Bassey handball incident as statement issued

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Ferridge, A. (2026, September 20). Why Manchester United did not get a penalty for Calvin Bassey handball incident as statement issued. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/why-manchester-united-did-not-win-a-penalty-after-calvin-bassey-handball-incident-b1297695.html

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Quick Summary

In a recent Premier League match between Manchester United and Fulham, Calvin Bassey appeared to handle the ball during gameplay, but no penalty was awarded. Video footage clearly showed contact between Bassey’s hand and the ball when he instinctively raised his hands near his chest to protect himself from a shot by Martinez. The referee and VAR reviewed the incident and agreed that since Bassey’s arms were close to his body and did not alter the course of the ball, there was no foul, leading to confusion among fans about the decision-making process regarding handball rules.

Written by AI on 2026-09-21, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In a recent Premier League match between Manchester United and Fulham, a controversial incident occurred when Fulham defender Calvin Bassey appeared to handle the ball inside the penalty area. However, referee Peter Bankes did not award a penalty, stating that Bassey's hand was close to his body and did not affect the flight of the ball. The match ended in a draw, leaving Manchester United with just one win in their last five games before the international break. Post-match analysis by the Premier League revealed that VAR supported the on-field decision made by Bankes, concluding there was no clear denial of a goalscoring opportunity.

Written for “Manchester United Penalty Controversy” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

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“The articles describe different matches: one is a Carabao Cup clash against Brighton where Manchester United lost, and the other discusses a handball incident in another match which resulted in no penalty for Manchester United.”

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“The articles describe different incidents; one is about VAR's error in a Manchester derby match, and the other is about a handball incident not resulting in a penalty during a different game.”

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“While both articles discuss a match involving Manchester United and Fulham, ARTICLE A focuses on the overall performance of Manchester United and the goal by Matheus Cunha that saved the point for them. ARTICLE B specifically addresses an incident where Calvin Bassey may have committed a handball but no penalty was awarded.”

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“Article A discusses the overall match outcome and performance of Manchester United against Fulham, while Article B focuses specifically on a controversial handball incident that occurred during the match but does not describe the entire event.”

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0 of 11 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

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takes no side on a contested political question

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65/100

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Who wrote this

Arthur Ferridge

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All 202 articles by Arthur Ferridge →

Narrative

Claims (11 extracted, 0 hedged)

He did not, however, point to the penalty spot, and the match ultimately ended level, leaving United to head into the international break with just one win in their last five games. asserted

match → point → games

Transcripts of referee conversations have now been released to shed some light on why United were denied a gilt-edge chance at a winner. asserted

United → release → winner

Why wasn’t a penalty awarded after Bassey handball? asserted

penalty → award → handball

Martinez fired the ball at Bassey from close range, and the Fulham defender instinctively brought his hands to his chest to protect himself. asserted

defender → fire → himself

Footage clearly showed contact between hand and ball, but Bassey got off scot-free as his hands were deemed close to his chest. asserted

hands → show → chest

The theory is that Bassey’s hands did not affect the flight of the ball, which would simply have hit his chest had it not hit his hands first. asserted

it → affect → hands

Given Martinez had not shot, it was not denial of a goalscoring opportunity. asserted

it → give → opportunity

The conversation between the referee and the VAR has now been revealed by the Premier League match centre. asserted

conversation → reveal → centre

After the incident, centre referee Peter Bankes said: “On-field decision is play on.” asserted

decision → say → field

His assistant added: “It’s close to his body – it has hit but his arm is close to his body.” asserted

arm → add → body

And the Video Assistant Referee at Stockley Park concurred: “Arms close to his body. asserted

Referee → concur → body

Why Manchester United did not get a penalty for Calvin Bassey handball incident as statement issued

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Claims (11 extracted, 0 hedged)