Things were looking gloomy for Mohun Bagan Super Giant in the ISL final against Bengaluru FC, when they were handed a lifeline by referee Senthil Nathan S.
On 72 minutes, a shot from Jamie Maclaren off Jason Cummings’s cross hit the arm of diving BFC defender Chinglensana Singh. The latter was falling to the floor and his right arm was outstretched. The referee deemed it to be in an unnatural position.
BFC players protested, but the referee was not going to change his decision. On the face of it, the decision looked harsh, but Senthil Nathan went by the letter of the law.
This is what Law 12 of the FA rulebook states –
“It is an offence if a player:
touches the ball with their hand/arm when it has made their body unnaturally bigger. A player is considered to have made their body unnaturally bigger when the position of their hand/arm is not a consequence of, or justifiable by, the player’s body movement for that specific situation. By having their hand/arm in such a position, the player takes a risk of their hand/arm being hit by the ball and being penalised.”
Cummins equalised from the spot. Earlier, an Alberto Roriguez own goal had given BFC the lead.