Well, all l can say is l hope to see some common sense and handballs like these won't be given. The law has been complicated by too much gobbledygook, which gets a lot of criticism from footballers and journalists who see accidental handball being punished. If l was being taught like you are l wouldn't accept it like a schoolboy but ask why we're wanting footballers to avoid natural arm positions.
Handball?
- Thread starter Jackson
- Start date
I might need to respectfully ask that you take your complaints to a more relevant forum.
We aren't being taught, at least not unless we are new referees, rather we are expected to study the law changes made every year and then apply the laws correctly. We might not agree with the laws, but we are duty obliged to apply them. All participants in football constantly bemoan a lack of consistency from referees, that is hardly going to be helped if some referees "don't accept laws like schoolboys" and rather go off doing their own thing.
Okey pokey
I'll stir it up a bit
As a qualified Ref, I can definitely see where @Jackson is coming from
It boils down to the 'natural position' nonsense
For me, the 'ball is close', it's an 'unexpected ball' and the player's hand is in a natural position as part of his overall movement and time to react
So it is about interpretation and subjectivity and it is about what FIFA/UEFA/Refs are taught and that ultimately sets the precedent for the rest of us
So, is it a PK according to the book? IMO.... No
Is it a PK according to what we expect from elite R's?... Yes
Is the teaching wrong?... Yes it is is IMO
Does this thread illustrate the 'them and us' attitude between Referees and non-Referees?... Yes, it absolutely does
Just sayin.... (am not on the wind-up BTW)
I'll stir it up a bit
As a qualified Ref, I can definitely see where @Jackson is coming from
It boils down to the 'natural position' nonsense
For me, the 'ball is close', it's an 'unexpected ball' and the player's hand is in a natural position as part of his overall movement and time to react
So it is about interpretation and subjectivity and it is about what FIFA/UEFA/Refs are taught and that ultimately sets the precedent for the rest of us
So, is it a PK according to the book? IMO.... No
Is it a PK according to what we expect from elite R's?... Yes
Is the teaching wrong?... Yes it is is IMO
Does this thread illustrate the 'them and us' attitude between Referees and non-Referees?... Yes, it absolutely does
Just sayin.... (am not on the wind-up BTW)
Am pleased you said it
So why did his right arm come out? He wasn't running, there was just no reason for that to happen, and as the law directly says "by having their hand/arm in such a position, the player takes a risk of their hand/arm being hit by the ball and being penalised".
And to be clear, I don't like the law as it stands, and would have hated it back when I played as a defender, but we can only apply what is written down. I'd much prefer it went back to the old law of the referee uses judgement to decide whether it was intentional or accidental, but the issue there was that view differed massively between different referees.
I think the player's arm is extended slightly as part of the turning away from the ball reflex
It still comes down to the referee's judgement, only instead of deciding between deliberate and accidental, referees now decide between natural and unnatural. Referees also need to decide between deliberate and accidental (as before), and sometimes decide whether the handling was ‘immediately’ before a goal was scored. If anything, handball is now even more subjective than it was before.
It will never be black and white, and opinions between referees will routinely differ.