Aston Villa misses a bizarre penalty for handball, giving Club Brugge the lead in the Champions League

Associated Press

BRUGES, Belgium (AP) — Aston Villa missed an unusual penalty for handball in its Champions League match against Club Brugge on Wednesday when defender Tyrone Mings picked up the ball after receiving a short goal kick from goalkeeper Emi Martínez early in the second half had.

Mings apparently believed the ball was not yet in play and moved forward to pick it up with his left hand and return it to place at the corner of the six-yard box.

Brugge captain Hans Vanaken converted the penalty in the 52nd minute to give Brugge a 1-0 lead by placing the ball to Martínez’s left while the goalkeeper dove to the right.

Villa won their first three games and were surprise leaders in the 36-man standings on their return to the competition after a break of 41 years.

In a similar incident last year in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Bayern Munich were not awarded a penalty when Arsenal defender Gabriel was not penalized for picking up a short pass from goalkeeper David Raya.

Bayern’s then-coach Thomas Tuchel later criticized the referee for saying he would not award a penalty because of a “childish mistake.”

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