West Bromwich Albion striker Aune Heggebo has been banned for two matches by the Football Association for scoring a goal with his hand in Saturday's 2-1 win at Norwich City. The Norway forward was charged with a breach of Rule E3.1 in relation to his goal at Carrow Road, which went in off his arm as he got on the end of Jimmy-Jay Morgan's left-wing cross in the 75th minute to give the visitors the lead. After the game, Canaries head coach Philippe Clement said the incident was "a decisive moment in the game.
I think this is a clear-cut goal that should be disallowed". The FA alleged Heggebo did "successfully deceive a match official by handling the ball in a direct successful attempt to score a goal" with a regulatory commission upholding the misconduct charge - and subsequent suspension - on Thursday. The Baggies had appealed against the charge in the belief it was accidental, stating the ball's deflection off the Norwich goalkeeper "materially affected the ball's trajectory and left him [Heggebo] with less than 0.1 of a second to react".
They will now be without the striker for their Championship game against Burnley on Sunday and the Carabao Cup second-round tie at Premier League Newcastle United on 26 August. The charge over a handball is believed to be the first of its kind in English football, following a rule change prior to the 2024-25 season. Albion said they would write to the FA, external "requesting clarification on how a player is reasonably expected to react should similar circumstances arise in the future".
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