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Watch: Ian Holloway bizarrely blames EU for handball controversy

Ian Holloway: unhappy with the EU (Mike Egerton/PA Wire)
Ian Holloway: unhappy with the EU (Mike Egerton/PA Wire)

Former QPR boss Ian Holloway has bizarrely taken aim at the EU over football’s controversial new handball law.

Holloway, who also managed Blackpool and Crystal Palace in the Premier League was incensed by the implementation of the new ruling after Manchester City were denied victory against Spurs last weekend.

According to the new law, even accidental handball is penalised if it leads to a goal or creates a goalscoring opportunity.

Curiously, a penalty is not awarded if the defending team were to commit unintentional handball in the same situation.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ The Debate, Holloway made his feelings clear on the new directive: “For me, they should get rid of that rule straight away. It doesn’t make sense.

“If it’s not handball for both, how can you assess that? Is that clear and obvious?”

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In the build-up to Gabriel Jesus’ would-be stoppage time winner at the Etihad, the ball was judged to have come off the arm of teammate Aymeric Laporte, albeit accidentally, before the Brazilian’s cool finish.

VAR spotted the handball and the goal was chalked off match by official Michael Oliver.

Continuing his rant, Holloway somehow conflated the application of the new law with the introduction of video technology in games.

“Their job is not to re-referee the game but to spot clear and obvious,” he added. “So I don’t think that’s our boys changing the law.”

Gabriel Jesus' goal against Spurs was cruelly chalked off for handball (Martin Rickett/PA Wire)
Gabriel Jesus' goal against Spurs was cruelly chalked off for handball (Martin Rickett/PA Wire)

Holloway, 56, then went off on something of a tangent, implying that the European Union were somehow responsible for the law change as well as VAR probably, before suggesting that Britain's imminent departure would prevent such interferences in football taking place going forward.

“I think that’s people telling us what we should do with our game,” he continued. “They should stop doing that.”

“I hope we get out. Brexit because that’s what we all voted for. You cannot have someone telling us how to do our own game.”

Unfortunately for Holloway, the governing body responsible for all laws of the game, the new handball law included, is IFAB.

The significance of this is that IFAB (the International Football Association Board) is actually are made up of representatives of all governing bodies of the four football associations from the UK.

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