Question Number: 15534

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 5/20/2007

RE: Grade 8 Adult

Justin Harper of Baltimore , MD U.S.A asks...

Ok I know you probably get alot of questions on Handballs but I need to know something. I had a situation where I felt that the ball played the hand and not the hand playing the ball. Situation was this.
* On a corner kick the ball was played to the far post while most players went near post. It left a girl wide open. She wound up to kick the ball that was about chest high. While she did this she swung one of her hands behind her. She missed the ball with her foot and it bounces underneath her legs and hits her hand that is behind her back. She recovers and kicks the ball into the goal. I award the goal.*
Now as soon as that happens the expected coach yelling and screaming for a hand ball started. I went to the coach and explained to him it was not intentional. The ball played the hand so there is no foul and the goal will count. He insisted that becuase she gains an advantage, even a goal scoring oppurtunity that the hand ball should be called. I told him I have never called it that way and I never will. Now usually for me it ends there. I've referee'd for four years and I pride myself in knowing the rules of the game and how to implent them. I am proud to call myself a referee. Anyway I talked to my Ar's after the game and they asked what I said to the coach. I explained to them what happened and what the coach had said. To my amazement they agreed with the coach. I shook it off and marked up to the fact that yes they were players and haven't become a full referee yet. (Really there for just the money so they haven't taken time to read and study the rule book) So I decide to ask a few veteran referee's the following weeks in what they would have called. They have all said it was a handball because she gained an advantage. Even a state referee has said this me. I have even had a referee tell me that since her hand is not at the natural position of being at her side that there was intent to play the ball. So I started asking refere's to point it out to me in the rule book and they could not. But they say its in there. I asked one of my assignors and all he told me was that I should call it for the good of the game. I'm not losing sleep over this. I'm more or less concerned with the fact that I might not understand this rule correctly.

Long question short. If a player gains an advantage from when the hand or arm come in contact with the ball with no intention on the players part, shall a hand ball be called?

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Justin, you are right as you can be. Take this argument to those saying gaining advantage makes something change.

When the ball strikes the hand or arm of a player and the referee does not consider it a deliberate act it becomes history. Can you change history? I think not...

Gains advantage applies only to a player in an offside position at the time a colleague last touches the ball and subsequent movements of the ball deliver it to him. These include deflecting off of a goal post, crossbar, goalkeeper or match official. The reason gains advantage applies in this case is because Law 11 says so. The reason it doesn't apply in the other case is because Law 12 says "handles the ball deliberately [except for the goalkeeper inside his own penalty area].

Answer provided by Referee Steve Montanino

The ball must be handled deliberately. In your situation you convince me that you did not consider what you saw a deliberate action. Thus, there can be no violation of law 12.

The person who told you that the hand was in an unnatural playing position made a reasonable point, but you have to decide even when that occurs whether or not the handling was deliberate. Generally, we say if a player is running around with their hands in the air or wide out at their side, that they have a reasonable understanding that playing this way could result in the ball striking their hand. So, we punish that because they shouldn't have been deliberately playing that way.

Another thing that happens is that a player can see the ball coming toward them and it will hit their hand if they leave it where it is. Even though they have ample time to move it out of the way they leave their hand in the position it was in to stop the ball. That is also a deliberate action.

In your case it does not sound like the action was deliberate, and therefore this is not a foul.

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

Justin, you are right on. Law 12 clearly states deliberatly handles the ball. Whether or not there was an advantage means nothing. These AR's and other referees need to know this. Your question does not make your state look good when I read a state referee did not know this.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Your ARs need a refresher course or at least to re-read Advice To Referees if they every have. This myth about advantage is prevalent among coaches but referees should know better. When the ball and the hand(arm) connect you need ask yourself 2 things and 2 things only 1. Was it deliberate? 2. was it avoidable? If the answer to either is yes, then it's a foul. You were there. You made the call and you were correct. I suppose your ARs would call it a foul if the ball hit a player running away from the ball on the back of her arm if it bounced to her feet. You continue to call handling violations as you have in the past. You obviously understand the Law better than most in your area.

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

See Question: 16676