A&H

Hand ball in the box - how strict are you?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Dave Mac

Dave Mac

Member
The ball only needs to be within a yard of someones hand and lets be honest at least one player will appeal!

But are you a bit strictier with hand balls in the area? I had one this weekend with a bit of scramble in the area, defender goes to hoof it up field and a total miss cue, the ball spun up and hit his hand and bounced away from the danger area. EVERYONE has seen it, EVERYONE is calling for a pen, but I let play go as this lad would need to have been better than Messi if he meant to do that!

But it did make me think seeing as it was so obvious should I have given the pen as the ball would have continued to have bobbled around the 6 yard box had it not whacked his hand? Outside of the box I wouldnt have given it either.
 
The Referee Store
Every referees worst nightmare!! The action you describe above doesn't sound like he intended to do it, therefore ball to hand not hand to ball. No penalty for me. Ive had plenty like this, and they all get you thinking "is it a pen?"
 
I don't see the problem, the player has to have intended to play the ball for it to be an offence - do'nt worry about the cries for a pen - treat them the same as the "shove in the back ref" that you get all game long. You also need to consider if the ball was struck onto his/her arm at a fast pace from close range - could the player have actually avoided it or not, was it a deflection that the player couldn't have seen coming?.......

So many variables - but the over-riding factor is that to give a pen, or indeed a FK out of the box, the player must have intended to use his/her hand/arm!
 
Colin at laughed at the shove in the back comment. Its like chinese water tourcher sometimes, you tend to hear it every couple of seconds some games!
 
that was one of the two things we was told at the end of our refereeing course -

No surprises

Its better to give dodgy offside or freekick than to give a dodgy goal.
 
Spot on Dave (excuse the pun). It's all about probabilities. If it is more likely that players/supporters/coaches are expecting a penalty, then give it. In this case, the majority are expecting it to be accidental and for play to continue. The difficult bit is the clear advantage the defender gained from the accidental handball. If it was at the other end of the pitch and he scored a goal from it, I'd probably give the free kick!

Am I helping? LOL
 
Be careful there, Ross, because it's not about intent, it's about deliberation. There are four considerations when deciding whether to give handball or not and none of them have anything to do with whether it's inside the PA or not. They are:

  • Distance (how far away was the ball from the potential offender when it was played? Did he have time to move his hand away from the ball or did the ball simply strike his hand?)
  • Speed of the ball (how fast was the ball travelling? Did the player have time to move his hand/arm away?)
  • Direction (did the player use his arm to direct the ball?)
  • Position (was he making himself bigger with his arms?)
If you can say "Yes, yes, yes, and yes" than it's a handball offence. If not, than it isn't.
 
Very well put Ryan. Much better than my wording :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top