We all spend hours debating and arguing why a particular handball was called or not, especially when it happens in the 18-yard box. Looking at FIFA’s Laws of the Game, the handball rule is written as followed:
FIFA Laws of the Game P. 82: Handling the ball
Handling the ball involves a deliberate act of a player making contact with the ball with the hand or arm.
The following must be considered:
• the movement of the hand towards the ball (not the ball towards the hand)
• the distance between the opponent and the ball (unexpected ball)
• the position of the hand does not necessarily mean that there is an infringement
• touching the ball with an object held in the hand (clothing, shinguard, etc.) is an infringement
• hitting the ball with hitting the ball with a thrown object (boot, shinguard, etc.) is an infringement
Personally, what frustrates me about the way this rule is written is that it makes officiating the game even more complicated as referees are forced to use a subjective view for almost every handball that occurs.
Let’s use Mascherano’s handball on Wednesday in the game between Barcelona and PSG. Referee Deniz Aytekin didn’t deem it a penalty as he felt Mascherano’s arm was in a natural position. However, if Martin Atkinson, who officiated the Borussia Dortmund v Benfica game on Wednesday, had been assigned to the Barcelona-PSG game instead, he could have easily given that a penalty feeling in his own mind that Mascherano’s arm was in an unnatural position.
What constitutes “a deliberate act of a player making contact with the ball with the hand or arm?” How can a referee determine in a split second whether a player’s hand was moving towards the ball or if the hand or arm was in an unnatural position? All this rule does, in it’s current written form, is overcomplicate things and create even more controversy.
FIFA needs to make the handball rule more simple for referees, players, coaches, and fans to understand without sparking much debate. If I could make some suggestions to FIFA, I would tell them:
If the ball makes direct contact with the player’s hand or arm, it’s a foul. Regardless of whether the handball was deliberate or not.
A referee should only use his or her own interpretation if the ball first hits the player on a legal part of the body and then makes contact with the player’s hand or arm.
It wouldn’t be a perfect system, but this would at least simplify the handball rule, limit the controversy, and take off that added pressure on referees.
