HANDBALL, DIVIDING OPINIONS

Handball decisions in football have always been surrounded with controversies and multiple interpretations. With the introduction of Video Assistant Referee(VAR) throughout the major leagues in Europe and across the world, the discussion on which instance a handball should be given and on which instance a handball should not be given stands piqued.Read further for more regarding this.


What do the laws state for offences and sanctions :

According to the laws of FIFA, a handball should be given in these cases :-

Taken directly from source: https://img.fifa.com/image/upload/khhloe2xoigyna8juxw3.pdf

• At the start or restart of play, if a player taking the kick-off touches the ball again before it has touched another player an indirect free kick, or for deliberate handball a direct free kick is awarded.
• Where two separate caution-able offences are committed (even in close proximity), they should result in two cautions, for example if a player enters the field of play without the required permission and commits a reckless tackle or stops a promising attack with a foul/handball, etc
• Where a player denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by a deliberate handball offence the player is sent off wherever the offence occurs.
• offence by the attacking team in the build-up to or scoring of the goal (handball, foul, etc.) can be reviewed using VAR for goal or no goal

What VAR can check:


The VAR can check the video footage in normal speed and/or in slow motion but, in general, slow motion replays should only be used for facts, e.g. position of offence/player, point of contact for physical offences and handball, ball out of play (including goal/no goal); normal speed should be used for the ‘intensity’ of an offence or to decide if a handball was ‘deliberate’


Stopping an attack while defending using the hand or by ‘Handball’ is considered as inappropriate behaviour. Handball may also be committed by the attacking player as well. According to the new rules, if there is a handball by the attacking team leading to or before a goal is scored, (found by using VAR) than the goal will be ruled out. Whether this handball is deliberate or not, it is an offense or a foul. If a handball is deliberate, than the laws clearly state that a foul must be awarded to the other team who is the victim of the offense. The new rule is clear in the case of an intentional handball but there is still a lot of ambiguity in the case of unintentional handballs.

There was a match between Chelsea and Liverpool, the Supercopa, where an unintentional handball committed by a Chelsea defender in the penalty box was not considered an offense or foul. But an unintentional handball, in a recent premier league game on 18th August between Man City and Tottenham by the attacking team leading to a goal by Jesus, was considered as an offense and the goal scored was ruled out. In the first case, the handball was committed by the defender and in the second case a handball was committed by the attacking team. In both the cases, the ball touched the hand of the player unintentionally. So why was one handball given as a foul, while the other was not considered a foul? Perhaps there should be more uniformity in the decisions. One could argue that the first instance of handball was in a UEFA contest and the second instance of handball was in a premier league contest. A football game which is held under the ambit of FIFA should have the same rules, irrespective of the competition or league.

Some handball decisions directly effect the result of the game. In the past season in the UEFA champions league, an unintentional handball committed by a PSG defender against Man Utd was considered a foul and a penalty was awarded to Man Utd which ended up being the winner.The referees in this case must be very cautious before he or she arrives at a decision.

What if a player touches the ball in order to protect himself as a natural reaction, should it be considered as a handball offense or not? What if the player is about to jump and the ball touches his hand. When a player jumps or when he is in mid air, it may not be possible for a player to keep his hands behind his back as it is an unnatural position and he may not be able to jump properly or balance himself properly. So in these cases a handball should not be given but it still is given.

Handballs have definitely been surrounded with controversy and there should be more uniformity across the various football leagues and international competitions under FIFA to reduce the ambiguity. Whether an unintentional handball should be considered as a foul or not is still up for debate.