Explain Tyrone Mings' 'very strange' penalty mistake – and why he was penalized but Gabriel wasn't against Bayern

When Tyrone Mings imagined his Champions League debut, he might have seen a clean slate, a victory and perhaps even dreamed of a winning goal. But giving the opponent a penalty in an obscure way wouldn't have been on his list.

With the game goalless, Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez took a quick goal kick and passed laterally to Mings, who was positioned a few meters to the Argentine's left, just outside the six-yard box.

Mings had not yet looked at the goalkeeper, suggesting he may not have known the ball was in play, but Club Brugge striker Ferran Jutgla had assumed the game had started.

While Jutgla, who was just outside the penalty area when Martinez made the pass, now moved towards the defender, Mings picked up the ball with his left hand, took a few steps back before returning it to the five-yard line placed and passed to Martinez. Meanwhile, Brugge players protested to referee Tobias Stieler over a handball and a penalty.

The German official immediately pointed to the spot and his decision was confirmed by VAR Benjamin Brand moments later. Club captain Hans Vanaken converted the penalty and gave the Belgian club a 1-0 lead.

According to the rules of the game, there is no question that this was a penalty. UEFA's handball rules state that it is a handball when a player “intentionally touches the ball with the hand/arm, for example by moving the hand/arm towards the ball or by touching the ball with the hand/arm.” Arm touched when it reached his body “unnaturally larger”.

Given that the game was live when Mings picked up the ball, the decision to award a penalty could be seen as as clear as any to the referee. Still, Villa fans might be a little sad when they recall a similar incident in the Champions League quarter-final clash between Arsenal and Bayern, which did not result in a penalty.

This incident occurred in the 67th minute of the game when Bayern were leading 2-1. After the referee whistled to restart the game following a goal kick, Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya played a short pass to his teammate Gabriel.

Like Mings, Gabriel picked up the ball in his hands and placed it back in the six-yard box, seemingly without noticing that the game was now live.

Immediately after Gabriel handled the ball, Bayern attackers Harry Kane and Jamal Musiala turned to the referee and called for a penalty, pointing to their arms to indicate a handball.

However, unlike Steiler, referee Glenn Nyberg quickly dismissed their claims.

According to the IFAB handball law, there should be no debate; it is a punishment. The ball was live and Gabriel “intentionally touched the ball with his hand” in the penalty area. If football were a sport in which the rules of law had to be followed without human interpretation, the referee would have awarded the penalty without question and there would have been little room for debate afterwards.

However, there is a time and a place where “common sense” should prevail, as Christina Unkel, FIFA match official and rules analyst, told CBS Sports at the time.

“If you argue that this is a penalty, with all due respect you hate football,” Unkel said. “Here we have to use common sense and (the so-called) Rule 18. Bayern were never deprived of an advantage in this situation and, above all, it was simply an honest and legitimate mistake. There was no reason why the defender would have picked up the ball and placed it, other than the fact that he had not heard the whistle at all.”

There is no Rule 18 in the IFAB Laws of the Game, but the introduction states: “Referees are expected to exercise common sense and take into account the 'spirit of the game' when applying the Laws of the Game.” For this reason, the Use of common sense has almost become an unwritten law – therefore Unkel refers to Law 18. In this case, it comes to Arsenal's aid.

Unlike Mings, who is attacked by Jutgla, Gabriel is not under pressure from Musiala or Kane, both of whom are outside the 18-yard penalty area, and the Brazil international has time and space to find a pass. He makes no progress with his return pass to Raya (in fact, he returns the ball to the five-yard line and passes square), a pass he easily could have made before he had the ball in his hands.

This game ended 2-2, with Leandro Trossard equalizing for Arsenal about 10 minutes later. Villa weren't so lucky, losing the first game of the Champions League season after a blistering 100 percent start to their first season in Europe's most important competition since 1983. Had they beaten Brugge, they would have been the first English club who would have managed to win their first four games of the Champions League.

Villa manager Unai Emery appeared to have no concerns about Steiger's decision. “This mistake is very, very strange,” Emery said after the game. “But it’s football. I don't know if it was the intensity. It was a mistake because in the first half we played as we had planned. The game changed after our mistake.

“It's completely strange. It's the biggest mistake we've made in my coaching career. If we make a mistake in the setup, I can accept it. We did fantastic in the first half.”

For Mings, who spent 445 days on the sidelines after suffering a serious cruciate ligament injury, his debut in club football's most prestigious competition is an unforgettable experience.

Additional reporting: Jacob Tanswell

(Image above: TNT Sports)