{"id":298322,"date":"2023-11-21T23:26:49","date_gmt":"2023-11-21T23:26:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/?p=298322"},"modified":"2023-11-21T23:26:49","modified_gmt":"2023-11-21T23:26:49","slug":"man-united-defender-harry-maguire-hits-at-the-rise-of-soft-penalties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/soccer\/man-united-defender-harry-maguire-hits-at-the-rise-of-soft-penalties\/","title":{"rendered":"Man United defender Harry Maguire hits at the rise of 'soft penalties'"},"content":{"rendered":"
Harry Maguire has called on the Premier League to sort out the mess around \u2018soft penalties\u2019 and wants them to lead the way by raising the threshold for spot-kick awards.<\/p>\n
The England and Manchester United defender says it is \u2018ridiculous\u2019 what now constitutes a penalty, at home and abroad.<\/p>\n
Maguire saw team-mate Rico Lewis punished for brushing the face of a North Macedonia player when jumping to head the ball during Monday\u2019s 1-1 draw in Skopje.<\/p>\n
And the 30-year-old believes it is the PGMOL who have to show the rest of the world how to officiate in the penalty area, especially after a spate of accidental handball awards.<\/p>\n
\u2018For me, penalties in the last six months or a year or so, especially in the Premier League, all over the world really, the Champions League, they are given for anything,\u2019 said Maguire. \u2018They are so soft. They are making life so hard for defenders to defend the way it should be.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
England defender Harry Maguire says it is \u2018ridiculous\u2019 what now constitutes a penalty<\/p>\n
Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n
\u2018You should be able to defend, you should be able to move your arm, you should be able to move your body, you should be able to make contact, you should be able to move your hands and get there.<\/p>\n
\u2018Nowadays, penalties are given for everything. Absolutely for everything. I understand it\u2019s an important part of the game – what should be a penalty, what shouldn\u2019t be a penalty – but there\u2019s far too many soft penalties given at the moment.<\/p>\n
\u2018I think the threshold of giving penalties definitely needs to change. And I think the Premier League, the biggest league in the world, needs to start it, need to come up with something, because I\u2019ve seen some penalties in the Premier League since the start of this season which, for me, are just ridiculous.<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s not just at my club, I see them given for handballs where I don\u2019t know where lads are supposed to put their arms. Minimal contact too, it\u2019s a contact sport.<\/p>\n
\u2018Starting with the biggest league in the world, which is the Premier League, they need to set the standard and the threshold needs to be a little bit higher than it is at the moment.\u2019<\/p>\n
Maguire has been in good form for club and country of late but did not enjoy one of his better nights against North Macedonia, fortunate not to give away a penalty in the first half when stumbling into an attacker and knocking him over. The incident was compared to Boris Johnson\u2019s infamous SoccerAid foul in some quarters.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
England’s Rico Lewis was penalised for brushing the face of a North Macedonia player<\/p>\n
But Maguire said: \u2018Listen, I know I\u2019m appreciated in the dressing room. I know I\u2019m appreciated in the football world, coaches, players, the support I have from ex-players, managers. And I know I\u2019m appreciated with the England fans, who I have made many memories with over the years and that\u2019s the most important thing for me.\u2019<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Jack Grealish was another below-par performer in Skopje and he is well aware of the competition for places in wide areas, especially with the exiled Raheem Sterling playing so well at Chelsea.<\/p>\n
\u2018He (Sterling) is obviously playing really well at the moment,\u2019 said Grealish. \u2018So are the likes of Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka, and I feel like I am playing well at the moment. I am just not having any luck in front of goal at the moment and (offside goal against Macedonia) showed that.<\/p>\n
\u2018But there are so many good players. Cole Palmer has come in this camp and done really well, Jarrod Bowen is doing really well, so there is massive competition in those attacking places, but that is what you want.\u2019<\/p>\n
It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n