Referee and VAR "made correct decision" in controversially disallowing Sevilla equaliser against Mallorca

Sevilla’s wait for a victory in La Liga continued on Saturday as they were defeated 1-0 by Mallorca at Son Moix. Los Nervionenses have yet to pick a victory in the league (or Champions League) since Diego Alonso took charge in October, and pressuring is continuing to build on the Uruguayan.

However, Sevilla felt like they were good value for at least a point, and they were on course to get that as Adria Pedrosa equalised in the second half. However, the goal was ruled out after Youssef En-Nesyri was adjudged to have handled the ball in the build-up.

Adria Pedrosa had thought he equalized the game at 1-1 for Sevilla against Mallorca but it’s been disallowed for handball on Youssef En Nesyri. ❌⚽️pic.twitter.com/W8QeOfFREH

— LaLigaExtra (@LaLigaExtra) December 9, 2023

Sevilla were furious at the decision, and even Mallorca manager Javier Aguirre felt that his side got away with one in that moment (via Estadio Deportivo). However, as Marca have pointed out, VAR official Jesus Gil Manzano was correct to highlight the incident as an infringement, and on-field referee Alberola Rojas was right in overturning his original decision, as per the Technical Committee of Referees’ (CTA) guidelines.

“The goal is not valid as long as it is preceded by a touch with the hand or even if the action takes place in a formal manner.” (Rule 12 of the CTA regulations)

Despite this, Sevilla will feel very hard done by, and this incident could lead for a change in the rulings. For now, the Andalusian club will have to deal with the result, which leaves them 16th in the La Liga table.