The law states: "The ball is played forward to an attacking player and the goalkeeper handles it outside the area. The goalkeeper is sent off for denying the opposing team an obvious goalscoring opportunity."
However,this is a grey area as the referee would have to be certain that a keeper deliberately intended to deny a goalscoring opportunity and the offence was worthy of further action.
Indeed an entry on the FIFA website states: "A goalkeeper standing inside his penalty area deliberately handles the ball just outside the penalty area. What action does the referee take? He awards a direct free kick to the opposing team. If, in the opinion of the referee, the goalkeeper is also guilty of unsporting behaviour or denying an opponent an obvious goal scoring opportunity, he would receive further appropriate sanctions."
This was not the case with Bennett who caught the ball whilst his feet were inside the area. Knowing City's record on appealing against decisions,it is unlikely that the one game ban for Bennett will be over-turned.