Question Number: 35917

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 3/2/2026

RE: Pro Adult

AEK FAN CLUB OF NY of Astoria, NY USA asks...

https://youtu.be/FyNm0Io2aIk Please have a look here. 2 penalties. 1. was the first a penalty? 2. was the second a penalty 3. was there a foul on the yellow player (Domagoj Vida) before the "handball"

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi
Thanks for the question.
The first claim for handball is not a penalty in my opinion. The player has gone to ground, used him arm to limit his fall and the ball hits the arm.
In principle, IFAB the law making body states that if a player is falling and the ball accidentally hits their hand/arm when it is between their body and the ground, the referee allows play to continue. It is not considered a handball offence because it is natural for a player to put their hand/arm in that position for support when falling.
At one time in the US the advice was that in sliding challenges that contact on an arm should be called. IFAB subsequently qualified that to say that if the player moves their hand/arm unnaturally toward the ball, or if the hand/arm is extended far away from the body (not just directly supporting it), it is considered an offence.

The second one looks like deliberate handling to me as the player has moved his upper arm towards the ball. The quality of the video is not great yet if it seen by VAR that the ball hits the arm on that particular movement it is definitely handling and a penalty kick.

On the third incident I do not see enough here to be a foul and a penalty. There is a coming together of the two players yet that is part of the game. Given that the referee is well placed to see the contact plus it would be reviewed by VAR it tells me that there was not enough contact there for an offence that would have resulted in a penalty kick.
It would be a clear and obvious error if a player deliberately hit a player on the head with an arm.

I was at a game at the weekend and a player alleged he was elbowed in the head. As a spectator I did not see anything resembling a deliberate elbow to the head. The player could have got arm contact yet it was likely to be accidental with limited contact and not a foul. It ended up with the coach getting dismissed for verbals towards the referee.
I would also say that one of the downside consequences of VAR is that minimal arm contact will result in players staying down ensuring VAR review. I saw one on TV at the weekend and a player put him arm back to hold off an opponent which resulted in contact on the face, a free kick and a caution. Personally I thought the caution was harsh yet that was the call.

Final point is that in subjective decisions it is up to the referee on the day. Referees are subject to assessments and game reviews. To stay at the top of the referee pyramid good decision making is required in every game. Following the advice of referee bodies and the LotG is also vital.
So I have the upmost respect for senior group officials who are subject to the highest scrutiny both official and unofficially from spectators.





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Answer provided by Referee Joe Manjone

Hi and thank you for this question.

I agree with referee McHugh on his answer concerning both handballs.

The first handball was not deliberate in my opinion because the player did not choose to hit the ball with the arm, but instead the contact came from the ball hitting the arm as the player was sliding.

The second handball looked deliberate as the player turned the body and arm into the ball rather than turning away and keeping the ball away from the arm.

As for the foul it is obvious to me that the yellow player was hit with an elbow. However, I cannot say if it was deliberately thrown or the result of two players coming together. The referee was close to the play and had a good angle to see what happened so I would have to go with his decision that it was not a foul.


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Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hello,
One of the more interesting aspects of soccer is that referees can have an opinion that will be different than another referee's opinion. An important aspect to think about deliberate handling, most of the time, even when it is a foul, the player wasn't really trying to actually handle the ball. It is the attempt to play it deliberately rather than intending to use the hands.

In my opinion the defending player ==chooses== to go to ground to do a slide tackle to try and take the ball out and prevent the pass across. He did not fall, he went to ground deliberately to do a slide tackle, the sole intention of blocking the pass, which he did accomplish. In my opinion, absolutely a penalty, every time, all the time. This player did not trip and was trying to pick himself up, nor did this player fall and was trying to pick himself up. In my opinion, this is no different than the player jumping up or expanding his arms out to make himself bigger. Going ti ground to PLAY is far DIFFERENT than being shoved or tripped and falling trying to recover or stationary trying to push themselves up to rejoin play.

The second handling incident was more suspect in my opinion, because if you notice that the ball takes an odd bounce after missing or just skimming off the head of the targeted player in the middle and surprised the defender who reacted rather clumsily. I don't see that he deliberately tried to play the ball with his arm but I can see his motion in attempting to play it safely would look suspicious. He swung the arm as it did seem to impact. It is most likely the VAR had better camera angles. The referee was looking right at it and let it go initially indicating he was not convinced it was a foul. The VAR may have suggestd it was a CLEAR foul and AFTER revew the referee could have seen it from a better angle. in a grassroots game since see the referee had already let it go it would have been play on!

I'd say play on. It is always difficult to try and second guess a referee on the field when he has a good look at an incident in real time versus an armchair slow motion rewind look. Soccer is supposed to be a contact sport regardless if some embellish or add theatrics. What a referee is willing to tolerate, based on what players are willing to accept always has some degree of latitude. The referee will call what he sees, from the angle of view he has, in the moment it occurs, if and only if, his experience, knowledge and understanding of the game is factored correctly. and we all will suspect that that is a 5050 guess at best, espcially if you're an opposition, spectator, parent, player, or coach.
Cheers


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