Crystal Palace: Can Eagles stop the slide and were they unlucky to concede penalty?

Luck does not appear to be on Palace’s side at present, conceding a third goal from the penalty spot in controversial circumstances.

With goalkeeper Dean Henderson on the floor, defender Jaydee Canvot blocked Joao Pedro’s goal-bound shot with his arm and referee Darren England waved away Chelsea‘s appeals, with the arm seemingly in a natural position down by his side.

However, England did stop the game 51 seconds later after being advised by the video assistant referee (VAR) to rewatch the incident on the pitchside monitor.

He spent one minute and 55 seconds looking at replays before announcing: “It is an accidental handball, therefore, it is a penalty kick but only a yellow card.”

Midfielder Enzo Fernandez subsequently made no mistake with the spot-kick to put the game to bed, before a late Chris Richards reply.

Former Premier League referee Darren Cann believed a mistake was made on the decision, telling BBC Sport: “In my opinion, Crystal Palace were unfortunate to concede a penalty.

“The ball appeared to strike Jaydee Canvot’s hip prior to his arm, which was in a natural position.

“No penalty in my opinion as Canvot neither deliberately handled the ball or had his arm in an unnatural position.”

Just 24 hours earlier, England had been the VAR at Etihad Stadium, advising referee Farai Hallam to take a look at a very similar incident during Manchester City‘s win against Wolves.

Hallam initially ruled Wolves defender Yerson Mosquera’s arm was in a natural position and opted to stand by his on-field call, receiving overwhelming praise and called “courageous” for sticking by his initial decision.

Guidance suggested Chelsea were awarded the penalty on Sunday because Canvot denied a goalscoring opportunity.

However, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) has suggested on its website that a penalty should not be given if the player “does not deliberately handle the ball and does not make their body unnaturally bigger”.

Palace boss Glasner said: “I watched back the penalty and it was first on Jaydee’s hip. We were briefed before the season that if the ball touches the body first and then goes onto the hand that it is not handball.”