Fulham fury as handball law is changed again
Fulham were left furious after the handball law was changed yesterday. A goal which was ruled out against Tottenham on Thursday would have been allowed under the revised interpretation, which means goalscorers will be penalised only when an attacker deliberately handles the ball or is “unnaturally bigger”.
Strict rules on handballs were abandoned by football lawmakers yesterday as Fulham raged at having a Premier League goal chalked off because of the controversy.
The change means an accidental handball by a player that leads to a team-mate scoring a goal will no longer be an offence. It is an aboutturn from two years ago when “accidental” touches became punishable.
Accidental handballs by a goalscorer will still be penalised, but on the subject of penalising a player who has made their body “unnaturally bigger”, the law has been amended to state that it should only be a foul when their body position is “not a consequence of, or justifiable by, their body movement for that specific situation”.
The change to the law comes into effect worldwide from July 1 but competitions have the flexibility to introduce the amendments prior to that date.
David Elleray, who has presided over countless changes while in charge of the International Football Association Board, has also opened the door to so-called “robot referees”, semi-automated technology which could rapidly speed up Var offside decisions. An Arsene Wenger-led plan to introduce “clear daylight” to offside decisions is also being pursued by Fifa, initially as a trial in the Chinese league, after Ifab gave it the go-ahead.
Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president, refused to accept Var was having a negative impact on viewing experiences, but suggested new quick-fire decision making could be in place in time for next year’s World Cup in Qatar.
Mark Bullingham, the Football Association chief executive, added that “semi-automated offsides would be a real step forward”. He added: “The fan experience is negatively impacted by waiting to see if a goal has been scored.” He expressed doubt the technology would be in place by next year, however. The only change set in stone is the handball amendment, but it will not be introduced until next season because of integrity issues.
Pierluigi Collina, Fifa’s referees committee chairman, said the change to the law had been considered for seven or eight months. “What happened yesterday [at Fulham] is evidence that the decision [to change the law] is correct, but it was not a reaction to the incident,” he said.
Scott Parker, the Fulham manager, was fiercely critical of Ifab after Josh Maja’s strike was ruled out against Spurs. The ball had cannoned into the hand of Maja’s teammate Mario Lemina from a Davinson Sanchez clearance when he was a matter of yards away. The decision cost Fulham a point.
“How that rule has not been set in stone at the start of the season is beyond me,” Parker said. “If your arms are beside your body, and you can’t physically put them anywhere else other than chop them off, it needs to stand really. It’s just common sense, logic.”
Following the AGM between football lawmakers, Infantino said the panel felt “after analysing everything” disallowing goals automatically on the basis of handball “was going one step too far … in terms of the spirit of the laws of the game”.
The separate offside proposal for “clear daylight” is the brainchild of Wenger, the former Arsenal manager who now works with Fifa.
The rule will have a player judged onside if any part of the body that can score a goal is in line with the defender, in contrast with the existing rule which states that if any part of the attacker’s body that can score is in front of the defender then they are offside.