Champions League Blunder of the Year: Defender Concedes the Most Ridiculous Penalty

Unai Emery called this foul the biggest mistake of his career.

Aston Villa impressively started their Champions League group stage campaign, securing three solid wins in a row, including a significant victory over Bayern Munich. Three matches, three wins, and no goals conceded. This was unusual for head coach Unai Emery: he has won the Europa League multiple times, but the Champions League has always been an elusive peak. Apparently, no one reminded him that this isn’t the Europa League, but its more prestigious older sibling. The upcoming game against Brugge also seemed likely to end positively. However, during this match with the Belgian side, an incident will forever be etched in Champions League history.

In the 51st minute, something happened that no fan could have imagined. The ball was in play, and Birmingham goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez rolled it carefully to his teammate Tyrone Mings. Instead of continuing the attack, the Aston Villa defender did something unusual, to put it mildly. He picked up the ball with his hands.

It appeared that Mings believed the ball was incorrectly placed in play and decided to "help" by moving it carefully to the edge of the penalty area to resume play. However, this didn’t go unnoticed by German referee Tobias Stieler. The moment Mings touched the ball with his hands, he had already violated the rules: any handball in the penalty area is a foul and, therefore, a penalty.

Aston Villa fans were in shock, while the Brugge crowd erupted in joyful cheers, though few fully understood what had just happened. After a VAR review, the final decision was made – a penalty against Aston Villa. Hans Vanaken promptly converted the spot kick. That goal became the only one in the match, sealing the result and awarding the Belgians three points.

This penalty call due to Mings’ absurd mistake was reminiscent of an incident in Germany’s second division a month prior, where two similar handball calls were made in the penalty area. But that was the second German division; it’s the Champions League.

A recent example involved Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhães, who tried to handle the ball after a pass from David Raya in a match against Bayern Munich. However, the referee chose not to blow the whistle, considering it a "childish" mistake unworthy of a penalty. On the other hand, Tobias Stieler believed the rules apply equally to all. He punished Aston Villa to the full extent.

Aston Villa’s head coach, Unai Emery, did not hide his disappointment after the match, calling it "the biggest mistake he had ever seen in his career." Perhaps his surprise stemmed from the situation being comical and absurd, even for a beginner, yet here it involved an experienced defender. Aston Villa fans and experts were equally stunned. No one expected that such a small detail could drastically impact a crucial match's outcome.

Published by Patrick Jane
07.11.2024