Question Number: 30891

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 10/13/2016

RE: Youth to adult, comp and rec.

Barry Stewart of Chilliwack, BC Canada asks...

This question is a follow up to question 30887

First, I'd sure like to know how George pronounces his town's name: PARANGARECUTIRIMICUARO? Wow!

On George's handball example: is it a case of timing? Had the attacker jumped and protected himself before the kick, could we allow play to continue? (In my example), he didn't know where the ball was going but was keeping his hand tucked and body protected, just in case.

It has been said at this site that we shouldn't reward mistakes. In my example, isn't it the defender's mistake, for blasting the ball straight into the attacker?

If the hand wasn't there, the ball would have hit him in the chest anyway.

None of us, surely, has any problem identifying a blatant handball, where the player reaches out, palms, or punches a ball. It's the grey-area ones where we have challenges.

Thanks again and again for the valuable insights you give us all.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Barry
Any times a player deliberately uses his arms in open play to protect himself that IMO is deliberate handling. If the player does not want to get hit by the ball then he should not put himself in that position. Say a player wants to charge down a ball. He raises his arms for protection and then the ball strikes the players arms. The referee has no idea as to the intention of the kicker nor should he have. The ball can be mis-kicked and that still does not exonerate the opponents from using an arm to assist in charging down the ball.
As I said a player that perhaps turns away and instinctively raises an arm then some benefit of the doubt can be given. Not so when the player raises his arms deliberately before and as part of the challenge.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Barry,
I have great leeway to allowing the ball to be thought of as hitting a player. However, when a player DELIBERTELY moves in to play the ball I take a dim view of the arms AWAY from the body > If in front of face or groin I can see much less reason to see it as a deliberate handling but the arms they are attached to the body and if they are away from the body they make the body bigger. If you were standing with arms at your side and a funny rebound sent a ball your way or you were unsighted of a fast moving ball, your sight blocked by other players and bang, the ball hits those hanging arms I give you a pass but if you were waving those arms you likely do not get a pass.

I had a fellow deliberately jump with his eyes closed and head turned away from the incoming ball but he had placed his hands overtop his head so when the ball hit his arms I awarded a DFK in fact a PK for handling the ball deliberately . His defence of Ref I was not even looking or I did not see it, does NOT change the deliberate playing ACTION he undertook, that in my opinion that could only create this handling possibility. I do not stop play unless I am sure I must!
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Barry,

I wouldn't say it's really a matter of timing. The primary and overriding consideration is whether the handling was deliberate or not. Various factors can and should be used to help the referee make this decision. According to the laws, these are as follows:

''- 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''

Now I suppose the second factor mentioned there - distance - also involves an element of time (the closer the ball, the less time the player has to react) but overall I do not see timing, in the way you describe it, as a major consideration.

For instance in the example George gave, he says the ''attacker sees the ball coming and sticks his hand against his body in the spot where the contacts is going to happen''. To me, it doesn't matter whether that happened before or after the ball was kicked, it's a deliberate movement of the hand towards the ball and therefore a handling offence.

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

See Question: 30898