Question Number: 31043

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 11/22/2016

RE: Rec Adult

russell of Sydney, Australia asks...

Handball or not ?

Some debate around the water cooler this morning regarding the awarded penalty in the Real v Sporting UCL match.

As dumb and confounding as to why Coentrao had his arms in the raised position, some think they were there before the ball hit his right arm - and so not hand to ball in the true sense of the written law.

Then there is the camp that says 'arms in unnatural position' (making the body bigger etc., etc..) - so a penalty.

(Then of course there is the argument that it is 'Madrid' " so penalty. No question !!)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x532lf4_fabio-coentrao-concedes-a-really-dumb-penalty-vs-sporting_sport

My enquiry is " can there be a situation when 'arms in un-natural position' do not come into play.

If a defender stood in the wall at a ceremonial FK with their arms straight up in the air before the ball was kicked, and the ball strikes their arm - we are highly likely to award a DFK/Penalty, so in that sense, this mornings penalty would be justified.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Russell
No idea why Coentrao had his arms raised that high and he ran the risk that contact on the arm in that position is always likely to draw the deliberate handling. Was he appealing for handling by the Lisbon attacker? Whatever he was doing the unnaturally raised arms made him bigger. A player could not put his arms in this position in a defensive wall and not expect to escape the DHB call should the ball hit the raised arm. So the argument that the arms were in the position before the ball struck does not wash as a reason not to call the foul.
Yeah the referee can say that the raised arm was not a deliberate action with the intention of making oneself bigger or hand to ball yet one has to ask why the arm is there in the first place. As I watched the highlights I noticed that Marcello was doing the opposite by withdrawing his arms behind his back to prevent the ball hitting an arm and the referee being asked the DHB question.
Some will recall the DHB given against Schweinsteiger during the Euros
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9n5nbKwYvE
So for me both are DHBs and I would have no issue with the award of penalties.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Russell,
it certainly appears as if the defender Coentrao could have been complaining about the Lisbon attacker possibly using his hand to deliberately propel the ball forward just prior to the back heel flip kick. It looks suspicious to be sure but I could not determine with 100% certainty if it was true although if Coentrao was caught gesticulating, trying to point out his version or particular perception of the event to the CR it is unfortunate and rather silly that his arms were raised to block the through ball and that was all the CR paid attention too! I equate it standing at attention with an arm raised by a defender dangerously contemplating raising his arm will somehow improve the CR chances of calling offside. That's just a guess but when ever the PLAYER has control over his body parts we tend to think deliberate actions as opposed to say falling or stumbling with the arms wind milling to stay erect or when awkwardly trying to play the ball along the ground. Mind you there is no utter certainty how a referee might view a particular action. You might recall the Pro MLS referee Mark Geiger,awarding Mexico a last second PK in the Panama /Mexico semi final in the 2015 Gold Cup. A lot of deliberate intent was read into the spectacle in what appeared to be a rather dubious PK decision in the 88th but as an opinion and a fact of play the referee decision stands! No matter the foul of holding could have easily been called with the shirt grab and pull over the shoulder by the Mexican attacker on Torres moments earlier and the match ends in a far less controversial manner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPxeFCYdQXk

Cheers

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

See Question: 31049