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
