Nottingham Forest’s Neco Williams made an outstanding save to deny a sure goal for Crystal Palace on Sunday, Feb. 1.
The problem? Williams is not a goalkeeper.
The Forest defender was shown a straight red for punching a Jefferson Lerma header away from goal, in a moment reminiscent of Luis Suárez’s infamous handball against Ghana in the 2010 World Cup.
In a battle between two struggling sides at City Ground, the home side took an early lead through Morgan Gibbs-White.
But the game changed entirely just before halftime when Lerma’s header from a corner kick was punched off the line by Williams.
The Wales international attempted to head the ball away but instinctually stretched his arm out to make himself bigger.
The defender was shown a straight red card, with Ismaïla Sarr converting the ensuing penalty kick to level the game at 1-1.
‘The referee’s call of a red card for a deliberate handball denying a goal by Williams was checked and confirmed by VAR,’ the Premier League said on X.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.