The French champions endured a nightmare start to the final. Despite dominating possession in the first 15 minutes—78% to Arsenal’s 22%—PSG found themselves trailing 0-1. The opening goal came as early as the 5th minute after Marquinhos miscued a clearance to Leandro Trossard, who inadvertently set up Kai Havertz for a deep run. On the left flank, the German striker evaded Matvey Safonov before unleashing a thunderous shot under the crossbar.

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Moments later, the reigning champions thought they had restored parity. Just past the quarter-hour mark, Bukayo Saka received a corner from Ousmane Dembélé. The England international, positioned near the edge of the box, deflected the ball onto his arms before touching it a third time with his hand. PSG immediately appealed for a penalty, but the referee, Daniel Siebert, took no action, and the video assistant did not overrule the decision.

Did Saka artificially expand his body’s coverage?

Under IFAB Law 12, not every contact between the ball and a player’s hand constitutes an offense. A foul is only given if the action is deliberate or if the player artificially increases the area of their body covered. The rule specifies that this occurs when a player’s arm or hand position is not a natural extension of their body movement in that situation. In Saka’s case, his arms were clearly away from his torso, suggesting the deflection was an instinctive reaction to clear the ball—a factor officials likely weighed in their decision.

Nonetheless, the no-call sparked fierce debate across social media. Critics argued, “He touched the ball 27 times with his hand in two seconds—yet nothing’s called?” and mocked the VAR with “VARsenal.” Others defended the decision, stating, “He reacted naturally; it’s not a clear handball.” At halftime, PSG had failed to equalize despite several chances, none of which were truly clear-cut.