Hi, more for my understanding ( and to win an argument with my 15 year old) last night was a pen for me all day long. He says not as it hit his leg first. Is this right: A) ball hits hand in unusual position it's a pen irrespective of hitting another body part first (hand position trumps hitting another body part) B) ball hits hand in a natural position it's not a pen whatever happens Or in A does it matter if body part is hit first(body part trumps hand position). Does refs discretion come into it at all. Or are none of the above right and I am an old fart who doesn't understand the rules of thr game anymore
A. Is correct. The rules state that if a ball comes off another body part it's not a foul EXCEPT if the hand is in an unnatural position.
OP don't worry. It's like the offside rule. Just as you get up to speed with the intricacies of the laws they just change them for the following season anyway. Just be a grumpy old get like me and live in a constant state of confusion.
Talking of rules. Just heard ex ref Mark Halsey calling the offside rule an 'ass'. Where you (like last nite in Villa City match) can be 34-40 yards up behind the defence and deemed onside then your underarm hair is in front of the defender and you're flagged off. The one last night was scandalous and if by the letter it was onside the quite frankly my dear it is indeed an ass.
My opinion for what it's worth (before anyone says it, it's worth nothing). Handball rule is now ridiculous and we should go back to what it was 30 years ago but punish players severely for obvious deliberate handball. Offside rule (along with VAR) is now making the game a laughing stock. We should revert to the old rule for offside (again) from 30 years ago with the addition of 2 extra lines on the pitch about 35 yards from each goal and only apply offside in these two areas, ie no offside in the middle. That was the only problem with the old rule, the "Arsenal" offside trap. Gives the linesman less territory to patrol thus allowing him to judge offsides more reliably. Get rid of VAR except where the referee has made a massive blunder and just keep goal-line technology.
I want a rule change that if a player deliberately handles the ball on the goal line a goal is awarded instead of a penalty.
I want another glut of rule changes to come then I can say goodbye to football for good cos I cant take to the modern day skills of flicking a ball up onto a players arm for a penalty. diving or tripping oneself up after the ball was getting away from you, players trying to rag each others shirt off em at corners.
To be fair though, that was going on back in the 70s and 80s if not quite at the same level as today.
It has but central defenders nowadays play more with their arms than their feet, and don`t even know what a shoulder charge is. Shirts were baggier and easier to grab in those days pre shrink fit.
But there’s VAR. now to spot fouls. Cos in my book and everybody I talk to’s book, holding, shirt pulling, blocking and dragging to the ground are fouls. The VAR man must ignore these things on purpose so they can concentrate on spotting the ball brushing a players fingernail at 100mph.
They are in my book too mate. As I said in another post, VAR is worse than useless, it should only be there to spot massive errors by the officials in the same way as DRS in Cricket. The normal argy-bargy at corners and free kicks etc have been badly adjudicated for donkeys years, attacking players doing exactly the same things as the defenders are penalised almost every time whereas defenders get away with it. Obviously this is because the attacking player only gives away a free kick where the defender gives away a penalty. Maybe there is an argument for reintroducing an indirect free kick when defenders pull shirts?