Question Number: 33267

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 4/24/2019

RE: Adult

Steven of Syd, Nsw Australia asks...

Thanks you for the work you do.

Regarding handling the ball. It seems under new law changes ball to arm situation if unnaturally positioned and gaining advantage it will now be handball. So pretty much 95pc of handball will be called?

When do these laws come into affect? It would be good if IFAB set a world time. I know in Australia it won't be until next season of a league?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Steven
I would not agree that 95% of handling will be called, The only ones of certainty is where a player scores with this hand (rare), possession to create a goal scoring opportunity (rare), makes himself bigger and arms above the shoulder which are mostly called anyway even if accidental.
So for me I do not see very much change really other than the few current accidental ones that must be called now even if the referee deems them accidental.
As to when the new Laws come in force that will be any League that commences after the 1st June 2019. Leagues that are currently underway or just started will not see these changes until the start of their next season.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Steven,

I don't think the new laws are changing nearly as much as some people make out. The biggest impact is going to be accidental handling that leads to an attacker gaining possession and scoring.

I frequent a couple of refereeing forums and I often see claims that 'this incident isn't a foul under the current laws but will be under the new ones' - when often I disagree!! I think the new laws clarify some existing points, but there is very little that actually changes.

Note that the new laws state that accidental handling is not normally an offence.

Given how much ambiguity there is around the current law I think that providing a bit more guidance in the law is only a good thing. I would have liked IFAB to go further, myself.

In response to your question - new laws always take effect in the middle of the year and take effect in competitions that commence after that.

So, the Australian winter season will operate under the old laws while the next summer season will take on the new laws. This is the case every year.

Which is useful for referees doing the grassroots football in Australia that is during winter, and not doing any summer competitions (which is the case for most football in Australia)- as it offers you the chance to see it in effect for an entire season before you have to worry about it.

Unless you're one of the referees who does do summer competitions - in which case, good luck with it! I expect your refereeing association will discuss the changes before they come into effect anyway.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Steven,
As my colleagues have mentioned, unless the handling leads to a goal or a promising attack, there may not be so much change in how handling offences are interpreted, from the way things are now. In fact, some have said that these changes will reflect the way many referees (and some say, especially when VAR is being used) seem to interpret things already.

As I read it though, there are actually some specific handling scenarios where - if the new guidelines are properly followed, there might be slightly less offences called. For instance, the new laws state that the referee should not usually call a handling offence:

''... if the ball touches a player's hand/arm:
- directly from the player's own head or body (including the foot)
- directly from the head or body (including the foot) of another player who is close
- if the hand/arm is close to the body and does not make the body unnaturally bigger
- when a player falls and the hand/arm is between the body and the ground to support the body, but not extended laterally or vertically away from the body''

At the moment, when the ball comes off the head or body of either the player themselves or an opponent close by, it's often called as an offence, although I often think that even under current laws it shouldn't be (using the 'unexpected ball' clause). At least if these new guidelines are adhered to, we should see less of this kind of call.