Question Number: 30498

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 6/9/2016

RE: Under 15

Brian K of Brooklyn, NY USA asks...

What's the correct decision please?

Defender thwarts attack by kicking the ball.In doing so it hits attacker's hand (accidentally) and falls to another attacker who scores.

So it's not a deliberate handball but advantage is gained and a goal is scored.What is the correct call?

Also,is there such a thing as idfk for an accidental handball?

Thanks.
Brian.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Brian,
You answered the question as soon as you said 'accidentally'.
All that matters is whether the handling was deliberate. The outcome is irrelevant. So accidental handling that falls to the player's feet? Still no foul (and there is no such thing as IDFK for accidental handling).

Applying the law correctly here can be a difficult decision for the referee as players often find it difficult to accept this decision, largely through a lack of understanding of the law.

I've given the same decision myself once - and it also goes the other way; if a defender handles the ball accidentally thus stopping a goal, there's still no free kick.

Of course, there may be disagreement over whether the handling is accidental or deliberate, but the outcome doesn't change the initial decision. It was either deliberate handling or not - what happens in the moments after is irrelevant.

Some people may argue it's unfair that the attacking team are rewarded for handling the ball - but on the other hand, is it fair that they would be punished for something that was unavoidable? The intent of the deliberate handling law is not to penalise players for unavoidable accidents - a ball bouncing around the field is guaranteed to strike arms at some point - but to prevent deliberate playing of the ball with the arms.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

If it was an unpreventable accident it wasn't deliberate, it wasn't a foul, so there's no call to be made. Good goal.

Mind you, some players are tricky critters, and they may be good at making a deliberate move look like an accident. We have to be on the lookout for such shenanigans. But once the ref decides it wasn't deliberate, that's it. Play continues.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Brian
The great deliberate handling debate. First off there is no IDFK for handling. It is either a direct free kick or nothing. If it is accidental then there is no offence and it makes no difference if the team benefit from it or not. In your example you say the contact of the ball on the hand was accidental then it is play on no matter what happens afterwards.
Now we know that these handling incidents cause all sorts of furore. There is not a time when the ball hits a hand or an arm when there is not a call for a foul and your example would cause great difficulty for the referee. It is left to the referee to opine if it is a deliberate action or not. Now what can look to me as accidental can look deliberate to another. I watched the Womens WC in Canada and I saw countless calls for handling that IMO were not deliberate.
Now this topic is currently under active discussion by IFAB. In the recent changes in the law IFAB advises that DHB is not an automatic caution and spelled out that in the advice to the Laws. IFAB stated that some referees were interpreting every handball as ‘denying the opponents possession’ so every handball was punished with a caution (YC) - this was not the intention of the Law. Where a handball affects the opponents it should be judged like a foul – if it stops or interferes with a promising attack then it is a caution (YC).
It is expected that the IFAB Advisory Panel will deliberate further on the the subject in the coming months and it may put forward some new suggestions on the law which has become a major problem in the game particularly in the award / non award of penalty kicks. David Elleray, the technical director of the International FA Board (IFAB), has stated that the review includes clearly defining what is a natural and unnatural position of the arm for deliberate handling. At present the advice for handling only considers movement of the hand towards the ball and the distance between the opponent and the ball.
I might finish by saying that IMO 9 out of 10 handling of the ball are not deliberate. The ball hits the player and his action is rarely intentional. In a recent game I had five calls for handling and I gave one where the player had his arms raised while charging down a ball. All the others were unintentional with the arms in a natural position.

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 30499