Regis Le Bris Issues Verdict On Man City Handball Vs Sunderland As Var Explanation Revealed

Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris believes his Black Cats side should have been awarded a penalty against Manchester City after Elliot Anderson seemingly handled the ball inside his box.

At the point of the controversial moment, Sunderland had already equalised twice courtesy of outstanding hat-trick hero, Brian Brobbey, before former Black Cats loanee Antoine Semenyo put Enzo Maresca’s side ahead for the third time.

Sunderland went on to lose 5-3 at Man City, with Brobbey netting an emphatic hat-trick to bring the dramatic clash back to 4-3 before Erling Haaland fired City's fifth on the 81st-minute mark.

Man City midfielder Anderson appeared to handle the ball away under the pressure of Enzo Le Fee early in the second half, but the glaring incident went unresolved by VAR.

The penalty would have given Sunderland a golden opportunity to equalise for the third time, but the moment stung even more for the Black Cats when Semenyo doubled City's advantage just under two minutes after Anderson's handball, much to the dismay of Le Bris.

After the game, Le Bris offered his verdict on the controversial handball incident, outlining that he believes it was a handball and that Sunderland should have been awarded a penalty by referee Rob Jones.

As quoted by the Sunderland Echo, Le Bris: "It's hard to say, it looks like a handball to me. I don't know [why it's not given]. They don't explain, they just say yes or no."

If the clear handball was given, it would have been Sunderland's fourth penalty awarded across their last four games, following clashes against Brentford, Arsenal and AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League in midweek.

Within those three penalties, Le Fee converted two out of three of those, with Gunners goalkeeper David Raya producing a stunning fingertip save to deny the Black Cats playmaker from 12 yards to see Arsenal go on to beat Sunderland 2-0.

Not only does Le Bris believe it was a penalty, but former PGMOL boss and refereeing expert Keith Hackett agreed, outlining on X that "Sunderland player was not guilty of handball!!! The ball coming into contact is not an offence.

"The Man City player slapped the ball away in a deliberate action thats handball!!!"

What makes the incident even more frustrating for Sunderland was that VAR did review the apparent handball by former Newcastle United midfielder Anderson, but cleared the decision from referee Jones.

The Sunderland Echo outlined that it was decided that the handball motion was apparently accidental from Anderson, and therefore not a deliberate handball, although this is a convenient mistake to make when under pressure inside his own box when protecting a hard-fought lead against a Sunderland side pushing for an equaliser.

Given that Le Fee has a 66.67 percent conversion rate from 12 yards so far this season, and converted a penalty against AZ Alkmaar in midweek prior to the City clash, the correct decision would have offered Sunderland a clear avenue back into the game before Semenyo put City in the clear.

With City's previous Premier League clash against Manchester United marred by VAR after Haaland's controversial winner, which appeared to be offside, it once again calls into question the validity and worth of VAR, with Sunderland the latest to be on the receiving end of a wrong decision.