Fans rage as Chelsea avoid giving away penalty despite clear hand ball - after rival Premier League club were punished for the same offence last season

21 hours ago 13

By MICHAEL PAVITT, SPORTS REPORTER

Published: 14:12 GMT, 22 November 2025 | Updated: 14:28 GMT, 22 November 2025

Fans have argued Chelsea were fortunate to avoid conceding a penalty after Trevoh Chalobah handled the ball in the area against Burnley.

The incident occurred in the first half at Turf Moor, with Chelsea preparing to take a goal kick.

Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez kicked a stationary ball to Chalobah, which the defender stopped with his hand on the six-yard line.

Chalobah then passed the ball back to Sanchez, with the match resuming.

While Burnley offered no protest over the manner of Chelsea's goal kick, fans on social media claimed the Blues should have conceded a penalty for handball.

A comparison was made to Aston Villa's Tyrone Mings conceding a penalty in similar fashion in last season's Champions League.

Fans have claimed Trevoh Chalobah should have conceded a penalty for handball

Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez passed a stationary ball to Chalobah from a Chelsea goal kick

Chalobah touched the ball with his hand to place it on the six-yard box before playing it back to Sanchez

Mings was penalised for picking the ball up against Club Brugge, after being deemed to have handled from the goal kick, with the defender having been unaware the game had resumed. 

'That Chalobah handball is not a penalty?????,' one fan questioned.

'That incident between Sanchez and Chalobah. Is that not handball by Chalobah? Sanchez passed the ball to him to continue play and he stopped the ball with his hands,' another wrote.

'Trevoh Chalobah has got away with one there, should be a penalty to Burnley for handball,' a third wrote.

'So that goal kick rule with the handball only applies to Villa then,' one Aston Villa fan complained.

The incident involving Chalobah came with Chelsea drawing 0-0 with Burnley, but the Blues took the lead seven minutes later through a Pedro Neto strike.

It is not the first time a club have avoided sanction for a similar incident.

Arsenal had escaped in the Champions League during the 2023-24 season in a match against Bayern Munich.

Aston Villa's Tyrone Mings conceded a penalty last season after picking up the ball in his own box - after being unaware the goal kick had been taken

The defender picked up the ball from Emiliano Martinez after his goalkeeper took a goal kick

Arsenal defender Gabriel handled the ball from a goal kick against Bayern Munich the previous season, but the referee chose to take no action in the Champions League fixture 

After receiving a goal-kick pass from David Raya, Gabriel Magalhaes leant down to reposition the ball with his hand. 

Despite wild protests from Bayern Munich's players — and their then manager Thomas Tuchel - the Brazilian was not made to pay for touching the ball with his hands, with the referee waving for play to go on. 

‘For me, for all of us, he made a huge mistake not giving the handball penalty,’ Tuchel said after the match.

‘I know it is a crazy situation but they put the ball down, he whistles, he gives the ball and the defender takes the ball in his hand.

‘What makes us really angry is the explanation on the field. He told our players that it is a “kid’s mistake” and he will not give a penalty like this in a quarter-final.

‘This is a horrible, horrible explanation. He is judging handballs. Kid’s mistake, adult’s mistake. Whatever. We feel angry because it is a huge decision against us.’

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