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Less than a minute into Sunday's game between the New England Revolution and Orlando City, referee Baldomero Toledo awarded a penalty to the Lions. Was Toledo's judgement correct? Let's take a look.
Brazilian attacker Julio Baptista was at the center of the controversy as he was the man battling with center backs Je-Vaughn Watson and Andrew Farrell. Baptista uses his large frame to keep the ball and turn towards goal. During that motion, he's clipped by Watson, causing him to fall to the ground.
Penalty? Dive? Handball before the foul? #ORLvNE pic.twitter.com/Ie6J4EegmS
— Ben Jata (@Ben_Jata) April 17, 2016
So is it a penalty?
It does appear that Watson steps on Baptista's left foot, which, to me, is enough to point to the spot. That said, the ball strikes Baptista's hand before the foul, so Toledo should've whistled the play dead. Is the handball unintentional? Probably, but it greatly affected the play.
What do you think of Toledo's decision? Was it a PK? A dive? A handball? Let us know in the comments section below.