Penalties are a fun, game-changing variable IMO. Keeps things fresh.
Are penalties a disproportionate punishment for most handball offences?
- Thread starter Solius
- Start date
Indirect free-kicks please.
Definitely. Anything other than a clearly intentional handball should result in an indirect free-kick.
It's silly to award a penalty when a player has no control over his hands.
It's silly to award a penalty when a player has no control over his hands.
Context needs to matter. It may be accidental but if you’ve gained an advantage and it stops a goal, it has to be a penalty regardless. The problem, as always, is the lack of consistency.
Needs to be more contextual definitely. But with the current rules a blatant handball on the line gives the same reward as an accidental one that flicks up onto someone’s arm just inside the box facing away from goal.
Removing penalties only encourages defenders to make themselves as big as possible though. It’s a fine line.
Indirect free kick for unintentional handball unless the shot is on target. It’s it’s intentional or on target it should be a penalty.
Which would just mean defenders have no reason not to make themselves bigger as there is no real ‘penalty’ for doing it. Intentional is always going to be near impossible to prove.
^ Yeah very true.
In a lot of cases I don’t hate the idea of awarding an indirect free-kick, but as you point out it’s a fine line.
McTom had a lifetime to sort his arm out tonight so he has no excuse in that case.
McTominay lent into the ball. His arm was by his side but he deliberately moved towards the ball so it was fairly clear cut.
I don’t think defenders are suddenly going to be spreading their arms to block crosses. You could still punish unnatural positon as intentional.
What we have at the moment is players being punished far too harshly or not at all. If the cross strikes an arm which is out for balance that shouldn’t be a penalty but it also shouldn’t be wave play on either because you stopped a cross. An indirect free kick is the ideal scenario. Essentially anytime it hits a hand the game should stop.
Plus, if we had a load more indirect free kicks then teams could get creative.
Rules is rules.
Also there are refs to judge in the even of dubious cases.
The system is fine. It's up to the ref to step up the judgment
Also there are refs to judge in the even of dubious cases.
The system is fine. It's up to the ref to step up the judgment
Problem with indirect free kick will be that players will intentionally start doing handball inside the box.
If it’s intentional then give a pen. Movement towards the ball like McTominay today is a pen. The ball striking an arm from very close or a deflection onto it would be an indirect free kick instead of a pen.
The laws are OK. Defenders should watch videos of smart players like Rio and learn from it. He rarely gave away free kicks or penalties and part of that was he knew exactly how much he could get away with.
Bumpy bump. It’s still a bollocks law. Indirect freekicks unless it’s going on goal imo.
Completely agree, it’s the law that ruins football the most in my opinion.
It is disproportionate for an accidental handball not on goal but it adds a bit of spice dunnit. On the flip slide an indirect fk would also be far less of a chance than getting a ball across a box in open play.
Plus footballers would take the piss with it if it wasn’t a pen. And they take the piss enough.
Plus footballers would take the piss with it if it wasn’t a pen. And they take the piss enough.
Does it? My appetite for a game basically dies when a pen like that is given. It’s crap.
Yep for unintentional handballs
That’s what I’ve said for ages. Stopping a shot or blatant deliberate handball.
Stopping a cross by accident ending your tournament is bollocks.
How would they take the piss? Just give a pen for deliberate handball or if it’s accidental hit stopping a shot on goal. For all these close range, natural position handballs it should be indirect free kick.
Yeah. Worst thing in football
Maybe they could award the indirect free kick, check VAR and only allow the exact same defenders and attackers in the box who were there at the time of the incident. Could lead to some interesting situations. Handballs like today feel disproportionately punished, not just because it was dubious in itself.
Yes, clearly,
I am a bit surprised that we don't see more blatant targeting of the arms by attackers, field hockey style.
I am a bit surprised that we don't see more blatant targeting of the arms by attackers, field hockey style.
Aye. All the obsessing over the handball rule in the last few years has forgotten about whether the changes and their punishment are proportionate to the offence.
Been saying it for years. I remember a similar one being given years back (2008?) against carrick at Stamford bridge - well before VAR was even a glint on Howard webbs shiny dome. We lost 2-1 and it nearly cost us the league.
It’s gotten so much worse now. So many instances of a free goal being given because of minor infringements by the touchline.
It’s gotten so much worse now. So many instances of a free goal being given because of minor infringements by the touchline.
Under the current handball rules, it's a ridiculously disproportionate punishment. But like almost any current rule in football, it seems like logic and fairness are basically irrelevant. The only thing that seems to matter is "correctness".
Football simply doesn't make sense as a sport anymore.
Football simply doesn't make sense as a sport anymore.
Covid-era Serie A was exactly like this. They went absolutely mental with the handball rule and almost every single ball-to-arm contact in the box was a pen. Attackers were literally just flicking the ball up at arms and hoping for the best. It was an absolute farce.
Immobile scored 36 league goals and half were probably pens.
Covid-era Serie A was exactly like this. They went absolutely mental with the handball rule and almost every single ball-to-arm contact in the box was a pen. Attackers were literally just flicking the ball up at arms and hoping for the best. It was an absolute farce.
Immobile scored 36 league goals and half were probably pens.
But hey, we got some sexy stats out of it which is great for promoting the game as the Ronaldo/Messi era showed.
It’s a ridiculous punishment in many cases, considering how tight the margins can be in the sport. If it’s a shot headed towards goal, sure. If it’s a cross deflected at the edge of the area, it’s really harsh.
It should be a direct freekick taken from the player's choosing anywhere inside the little semi circle outside the box. You can't do indirect freekicks from the location of the infringement because it could happen just before the line and that's a silly to have one. This would give extra emphasis for having a strong freekick taker in your squad. A marksman if you will.
This shit continues to ruin football and it’s crazy that people who make the rules can’t see it. The handball rules back in the day was never meant for this VAR nonsense where a player can just kick the ball into a defenders arm a meter away. So many games in this VAR era is ruined because of it.
Handball was meant for when people deliberately handles the ball or makes themselves bigger. Completely stretched out arms, arms over your head, jumping with your hands like a goalie.
It was never meant for defenders just running trying to close down an offensive player and then getting blasted with the ball because humans use their arms when they are running.
No one fecking moves around with their arms behind their back or along their body. I swear to god people who thinks that defenders should just have their arms alongside their body have never done any form of physical activity in their life.
These handballs are only getting picked up now because of VAR and shitty rules. It’s ridiculous…
Handball was meant for when people deliberately handles the ball or makes themselves bigger. Completely stretched out arms, arms over your head, jumping with your hands like a goalie.
It was never meant for defenders just running trying to close down an offensive player and then getting blasted with the ball because humans use their arms when they are running.
No one fecking moves around with their arms behind their back or along their body. I swear to god people who thinks that defenders should just have their arms alongside their body have never done any form of physical activity in their life.
These handballs are only getting picked up now because of VAR and shitty rules. It’s ridiculous…
No.
Football's rule makers seem hell bent on finding ways to make the sport worse.
V.A.R. and referees ruin a good game again.
I wouldnt even be fully against the hand ball rule being like field hockey style foot rules. No more discussion atleast. If a referee is supposed to interpret if a ball went to the hand or if the hand went to the ball, we get different outcomes from different referees. Or even different outcomes from the same referee.
Atleast field hockey style is clear.
Problem is that a penalty is such a good high chance to score in a normally low score game.
On target = penalty. Not on target = indirect freekick.
they should introduce a rule where if a defender shouts “hands,” the referee will respond with “2 keepers. 2 keepers.” and the defender who shouted will be able to handle the ball. if the defender shouts “hands” but doesn’t get to the ball, a penalty should be given to the attacking team. this stops defenders just always shouting hands.
I wonder how many penalties are ball to hand and not hand to ball. Think it is one rule that can be easily exploited by attackers and is making the hard job of defending even harder. Maybe all the players need to enter the field with their hands tied behind the box so nobody can handle the ball bar the goalkeeper.