Report: Which Outfield Premier League Footballer Is The Most ‘Handsy’?

The sight of a gaggle of players raising their arms in protest at an opposition member, well, raising their arm, is as common a spectacle within football as the dramatic rolling around on the turf, devious shirt-pulling, and Timo Werner scoring (maybe scrap that last one). In the Premier League so far, there have been a whopping 310 handballs resulting in penalisation, by 183 different players (including two goalkeepers! Name that dastardly duo.), which we have broken down to see their regularity, and who are the biggest culprits, by position and player.

The results of the study can be found below and have been organised into the following 6 categories: 

• Overall By Position;
• Fewest Minutes Per Handball In Premier League 2020/21;
• Fewest Games Per Handball In Premier League 2020/21;
• Defenders - Fewest Minutes Per Handball In Premier League 2020/21;
• Midfielders - Fewest Minutes Per Handball In Premier League 2020/21;
• Forwards - Fewest Minutes Per Handball In Premier League 2020/21.

Overall By Position

Forwards  Number of Players: 64  Handballs: 119 

Midfielders  Number of Players: 64  Handballs: 119

Defenders  Number of Players: 53  Handballs: 70

Goalkeepers  Number of Players: 2  Handballs: 2

Fewest Minutes Per Handball In Premier League 2020/21

1. Hal Robson-Kanu (West Bromwich Albion)  Position: Forward  Minutes per Handball: 155.5

2. Jack Robinson (Sheffield United)  Position: Defender  Minutes per Handball: 302.5

3. Ashley Barnes (Burnley)  Position: Forward  Minutes per Handball: 326.5

4. Michail Antonio (West Ham United)  Position: Forward  Minutes per Handball: 328.8

5. Anthony Martial (Manchester United)  Position: Forward  Minutes per Handball: 364.75

6. Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Fulham)  Position: Midfielder Minutes per Handball: 364.8

7. Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City)  Position: Forward  Minutes per Handball: 385.3.

8. Chris Wood (Burnley)  Position: Forward  Minutes per Handball: 403.17

9. Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City)  Position: Midfielder  Minutes per Handball: 461.5

10. Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United)  Position: Forward  Minutes per Handball: 472.6

Fewest Games Per Handball In Premier League 2020/21

1. Jack Robinson (Sheffield United)  Position: Defender Games per Handball: 4

2. Michail Antonio (West Ham United)  Position: Forward  Games per Handball: 4.4

3. Ashley Barnes (Burnley)  Position: Forward  Games per Handball: 4.75

4. Chris Wood (Burnley)  Position: Forward  Games per Handball: 4.83

5. Anthony Martial (Manchester United)  Position: Forward  Games per Handball: 5.25

6. Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Fulham)  Position: Midfielder  Games per Handball: 5.4

7. Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City)  Position: Midfielder  Games per Handball: 5.5

8. Isaac Hayden (Newcastle United)  Position: Midfielder  Games per Handball: 6

8. Sadio Mane (Liverpool)  Position: Forward  Games per Handball: 6

8. Jesse Lingard (West Ham United)  Position: Forward  Games per Handball: 6

Defenders - Fewest Minutes Per Handball In Premier League 2020/21

1. Jack Robinson (Sheffield United)  Appearances: 8  Minutes: 605  Games per Handball: 4  Minutes per Handball: 302.5

2. Matt Doherty (Tottenham Hotspur)  Appearances: 15  Minutes: 1141  Games per Handball: 7.5  Minutes per Handball: 570.5

3. Ryan Bertrand (Southampton)  Appearances: 29  Minutes: 2599  Games per Handball: 7.25  Minutes per Handball: 649.75

4. Dan Burn (Brighton & Hove Albion)  Appearances: 23  Minutes: 1699  Games per Handball: 11.5  Minutes per Handball: 849.5

5. Joel Ward (Crystal Palace)  Appearances: 21  Minutes: 1805  Games per Handball: 10.5  Minutes per Handball: 902.5

6. Joao Cancelo (Manchester City)  Appearances: 25  Minutes: 2128  Games per Handball: 12.5  Minutes per Handball: 1064

7. Kyle Walker-Peters (Southampton)  Appearances: 25  Minutes: 2228  Games per Handball: 12.5  Minutes per Handball: 1114

8. Lucas Digne (Everton)  Appearances: 25  Minutes: 2232  Games per Handball: 12.5  Minutes per Handball: 1116

9. Matty Cash (Aston Villa)  Appearances: 26  Minutes: 2243  Games per Handball: 13  Minutes per Handball: 1121.5

10. Joel Veltman (Brighton & Hove Albion)  Appearances: 28  Minutes: 2282  Games per Handball: 14  Minutes per Handball: 1141

Midfielders - Fewest Minutes Per Handball In Premier League 2020/21

1. Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Fulham)  Appearances: 27  Minutes: 1824  Games per Handball: 5.4  Minutes per Handball: 364.8

2. Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City)  Appearances: 22  Minutes: 1846  Games per Handball: 5.5  Minutes per Handball: 461.5

3. Isaac Hayden (Newcastle United)  Appearances: 24  Minutes: 1944  Games per Handball: 6  Minutes per Handball: 486

4. Adam Lallana (Brighton & Hove Albion)  Appearances: 27  Minutes: 1479  Games per Handball: 9  Minutes per Handball: 493

5. Alex Iwobi (Everton)  Appearances: 28  Minutes: 1491  Games per Handball: 9.3  Minutes per Handball: 497

6. Steven Bergwijn (Tottenham Hotspur)  Appearances: 19  Minutes: 1071  Games per Handball: 9.5  Minutes per Handball: 535.5

7. Jairo Riedewald (Crystal Palace)  Appearances: 29  Minutes: 1610  Games per Handball: 9.67  Minutes per Handball: 536.67

8. Moussa Djenepo (Southampton)  Appearances: 25  Minutes: 1137  Games per Handball: 12.5  Minutes per Handball: 568.5

9. Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace)  Appearances: 31  Minutes: 2292  Games per Handball: 7.75  Minutes per Handball: 573

10. Trezeguet (Aston Villa)  Appearances: 21  Minutes: 1166  Games per Handball: 10.5  Minutes per Handball: 583

Forwards - Fewest Minutes Per Handball In Premier League 2020/21

1. Hal Robson-Kanu (West Bromwich Albion)  Appearances: 15  Minutes: 311  Games per Handball: 7.5  Minutes per Handball: 155.5

2. Ashley Barnes (Burnley)  Appearances: 19  Minutes: 1306  Games per Handball: 4.75  Minutes per Handball: 326.5

3. Michail Antonio (West Ham United)  Appearances: 22  Minutes: 1644  Games per Handball: 4.4  Minutes per Handball: 328.8

4. Anthony Martial (Manchester United)  Appearances: 21  Minutes: 1459  Games per Handball: 5.25  Minutes per Handball: 364.75

5. Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City)  Appearances: 21  Minutes: 1156  Games per Handball: 7  Minutes per Handball: 385.33

6. Chris Wood (Burnley)  Appearances: 29  Minutes: 2419  Games per Handball: 4.83  Minutes per Handball: 403.17

7. Kai Havertz (Chelsea)  Appearances: 25  Minutes: 1432  Games per Handball: 8.33  Minutes per Handball: 477.33

8. Bertrand Traore (Aston Villa)  Appearances: 31  Minutes: 1945  Games per Handball: 7.75  Minutes per Handball: 486.25

9. Sadio Mane (Liverpool)  Appearances: 30  Minutes: 2436  Games per Handball: 6  Minutes per Handball: 487.2

10. Jesse Lingard (West Ham United)  Appearances: 12  Minutes: 1064  Games per Handball: 6  Minutes per Handball: 532