Did he make his body unnaturally bigger whilst jumping? Note that Andy Carroll done exactly the same thing too (arms out) when jumping for the ball.
Was the header from Carroll too close that Dier had no chance of avoiding it despite not even looking at it? Not saying Carroll aimed at him, but it is literally impossible for Dier to avoid it.
The handball law, one bit (in bold) confuses me with their wording.
It is an offence if a player:
- deliberately touches the ball with their hand/arm, including moving the hand/arm towards the ball
- scores in the opponents’ goal directly from their hand/arm, even if accidental, including by the goalkeeper
- after the ball has touched their or a team-mate’s hand/arm, even if accidental, immediately:
- scores in the opponents’ goal
- creates a goal-scoring opportunity
- touches the ball with their hand/arm when:
- the hand/arm has made their body unnaturally bigger
- the hand/arm is above/beyond their shoulder level (unless the player deliberately plays the ball which then touches their hand/arm)
The above offences apply even if the ball touches a player’s hand/arm directly from the head or body (including the foot) of another player who is close.
Except for the above offences, it is not an offence if the ball touches a player’s hand/arm:
- directly from the player’s own head or body (including the foot)
- directly from the head or body (including the foot) of another player who is close
- if the hand/arm is close to the body and does not make the body unnaturally bigger
- when a player falls and the hand/arm is between the body and the ground to support the body, but not extended laterally or vertically away from the body
Does that mean all above applies if it touches a players hand/arm directly from head or body of another close player (in this case it is a handball against Dier) or is it not an offence based on point 2 for the exceptions which is exactly what happened?