It's only the second week of the season, but the Premier League has already seen its first refereeing incident. The protagonist is Harry Maguire, who scored Manchester United's second goal with his hand in a 5-2 win over Ipswich: the touch is obvious and the defender even touches the ball with both hands in the action that later led to the goal being awarded after a VAR check, causing controversy. It's not an unnoticed mistake, especially since replays show the scene clearly, without any doubt, but the confirmation of the goal by the VAR room came due to a little-known rule, which makes the goal legal despite the double hand touch.
Why Maguire's handball goal is legal
At first glance it looks like a goal that should be disallowed due to a double handball by the defender, who handles the ball during the action that then leads to the United goal. But the goal is valid, confirmed after the VAR verification, which applied the regulation, despite the surprise of the fans who still do not understand what happened. The Englishman did indeed touch the ball with both hands before the shot, but the action remains valid due to a little-known rule that was in his favor.
Daylight Robbery from Man Winter. How's this not an handball? Maguire goal should be disallowed
— mrmccoyofficial (@mrmccoyofficial) August 30, 2026
Ipswich robbed! pic.twitter.com/14XsTfR2Am
The rules state that “if the ball is clearly out of bounds but is touched by a defender and a clear own goal occurs, the goal should be awarded”, which is exactly what happened with Maguire. The defender did not score immediately after the handball and in fact the goal came as a result of an own goal by Greaves, who deflected the ball enough to make the action valid. This was the explanation of the VAR, which recommended that the referee award the goal, because Maguire’s accidental handball is not penalised by the rules, a detail that not everyone knows, but from today will be at the centre of all discussions among fans.
