One of the basic premises I take when evaluating the laws of the game is that if a player benefits by breaking the rule, then there is something wrong with the laws and punishments.
I’m not going to get all moralistic over Luis Suárez’s handball. He probably did what virtually every professional football player would have done which was to give his sides an outside chance to stay in the game rather than lose. However, this action surely reveals a loophole within the handball law where a player can still benefit from doing a deliberate handball even when the player was caught.
So I proposed that football should introduce a penalty goal similar to penalty tries in rugby or goal-tending in basketball where the team is awarded a goal. If the player handballs the ball that was in the opinion of the referee that denied a clear goal then a penalty goal should be given. If the handball was deliberate then the player should be given a yellow card.
Now people may ask why handball should be given special treatment in terms of penalty goal. The difference between a handball and a foul from a ill-timed tackle inside a box is that with a foul that prevented the player from having a shot on goal, there’s no guarantee that if the foul didn’t take place a goal would have been scored. There’s always a possibility that the player could have missed the shot or the goalkeeper would have saved the shot. Therefore a penalty is a sufficient punishment for these types of fouls as it still requires the attacking side to be good enough to beat the keeper.
However, with a handball that stops the ball from entering the net, there is no doubt that if the foul didn’t take place a goal would have been scored. Therefore a penalty goal would be sufficient punishment.
Therefore there should be two tiers of punishment for handball inside the box. If there is a deliberate handball that didn’t stop the ball from getting into the net like the handball from Nemanja Vidić, then a penalty and a yellow card would be sufficient punishment. However, if a handball prevented a goal like the Luis Suárez or the Harry Kewell’s handball, then a penalty goal would be given. Although Luis Suárez would be given a yellow card for deliberate handball and Harry Kewell would be let off without a card.
dasilva
Roar Guru
Thanks Andyroo I don't think the issues brought up by Guardian are that important If the referee believes that the ball was on the flightpath to the back of the net then it's a penalty goal. If the flight path requires another attacking player to intercept a ball and score a goal then a penalty should be awarded. If there was a defending player in the flight path then give it a penalty. I already mention the difference between a player who has to score into an empty net and then was fouled and a handball (Remember Yakubu against South Korea. There's no guarantee that even with an empty goal that the player will hit the back of the net). What's the worst case scenario if it was introduced If the referee mistakenly awards a penalty goal. Are the defending sides really going to complain that they were robbed of a chance to save a penalty? If the referee mistakenly awards a penalty instead of a penalty goal. There's still 80% chance (the chance of a player scoring from penalty) that the decision won't prove costly. As far as I see, it's only a positive development of the game.
AndyRoo
Roar Guru
the guardian discuss the same idea http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/jul/05/suarez-world-cup-handball-penalty
dasilva
Roar Guru
Got there address?
dasilva
Roar Guru
My green and gold glasses shows that we were robbed of Two World Cups :)
dasilva
Roar Guru
Sure if it happens any other time it wouldn't be as dramatic Nevertheless the basic principles that every handball that prevented a goal should be punish with a goal should be a fairly basic principle. If someone missed a penalty due to a handball then it would be unfair irrespective on what time of the match had happen.
dasilva
Roar Guru
Towser I'm not too sure how you can connect the two Video referee is there to adjudicate the rules The law makers are there to change the rules if needed to make the game fairer Essentially what happened with Suarez hand ball was completely legal and no amount of video referee is going to change it. It's essentially Suarez taking advantage of a loophole of the law. Hence the responsibility of the law makers to close it. The introduction of the penalty goal (they can still keep the red card if they want to as I'm not too fuss about it) will closed off the loop hole of the game.
AndyRoo
Roar Guru
Well the penalty rather than giving the goal doesn't bother me. If it happens anytime other than the last kick of the game it's not really an issue. However I do like the aspect of your rule that removes the red card from the equation which is why I think the idea has some merit.
apaway
Guest
Great rule. Had it been in at this World Cup, the Socceroos would be currently preparing for their semi final against The Netherlands. (Green and gold glasses courtesy of Santo, Sam and Ed)
Michael C
Roar Guru
As a 'professional' foul it kinda makes sense in a major tournament to contemplate doing so (deliberately hand balling). However - with Australia - would you want Kewell to be the man?? probably not. But, what if the WC final sees Germany 1-0 up over Nederlands, 89 mins, and the Dutch fire a shot in to potentially equalise and it's handballed over the bar - Germany save the penalty, close up shop and park a bus for the last 3 mins and win the WC with 10 men. Is that a fair scenario??? Perhaps it is or isn't. I reckon the penalty goal is far, far tidier than a mix of penalty kick (with a chance of it being saved) and a Red card - - far tidier in ALL circumstances. The drama vs Ghana......is it drama or farce?? or, is it a case of 'fair' or not - them's the rules.
Towser
Guest
"A goal is scored when the whole of the ball passes over the goal line, between the goalposts and under the crossbar, provided that no infringement of the Laws of the Game has been committed previously by the team scoring the goal." Bit of a contradiction going on here in relation to above rule & this rule:- Sending-off Offences • denying the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball (this does not apply to a goalkeeper within his own penalty area) So on one hand we have world wide condemnation of the refereee & calls from football heavies & fans to bring in technology to make sure the ball did cross the line,but on the other we say scrap that rule for one particular type of incident as per the sending off offence above. Seems it opens up another can of worms.
The Bear
Guest
This is 100% brilliant rule amendment ...send it to FIFA, dasilva.
MVDave
Guest
Das Coming around to this...any shot/goal bound ball stopped by a player using his arm/s or hand/s is a penalty goal (no PK)... sounds reasonable. The punishment is a goal conceded which in football is huge...give the player a yellow for the handball (he is off if its a 2nd yellow but stays on otherwise and the game isnt ruined). Furthermore the player shouldn't be suspended for the next game (in major tournaments the fans want to see the best players play...not sit on the bench). So one major punishment (a goal) for such a major breach of the rules. The referee would determine the penalty goal if it hit the players arm/hand and stopped the ball from entering the goal...end of story... deliberate or not (the player is not expelled from the game). Therefore a player isnt punished 3 times for the one offence but the disadvantaged team gets the major advantage of a goal...no risk in having to take the penalty. Unfortunately FIFA wont change the laws because it would remove the drama as occured vs Ghana,,,fairness wont come into it.
Apelu Tielu
Guest
Dasilva, that is exactly what soccer is missing. It is a silly law when violating it gives the offending team an advantage, which was the case for Uruguay against Ghana. The goal would have scored if it were not the deliberate handball. By asking Ghana to kick a penalty gave Uruguay the advantage. FIFA seems an absolutely inept mob.
dasilva
Roar Guru
Personally, I would rather avoid sends off as much as possible as it ruins the game. I generally want to restrict sends off to dangerous tackles. Even stuff like stopping a goal scoring opportunity that was outside the box. I would rather give it a penalty (yes even a foul outside the box) and a yellow card instead of a send off and a free kick. It does seem a bit harsh that a handball would result in a send off + a goal. Although saying that, I'm not too fuss either way and I wouldn't complain if they kept it as a red card. My main point is generally the creation of a penalty goal.
Whites
Guest
"Although Luis Suárez would be given a yellow card for deliberate handball and Harry Kewell would be let off without a card." Don't you mean red card for deliberate handball? Why downgrade the offense to a yellow card?
dasilva
Roar Guru
I did say that I wasn't going to be moralistic about Suarez handball but this is disgusting. To go around bragging about it after the match is shocking. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/03/world-cup-2010-hand-god-suarez "The Hand of God now belongs to me. Mine is the real Hand Of God," said Suárez. "I made the best save of the tournament. Sometimes in training I play as a goalkeeper so it was worth it. There was no alternative but for me to do that and when they missed the penalty I thought 'It is a miracle and we are alive in the tournament'.
dasilva
Roar Guru
Thanks Looks like the Luis Suarez handball situation wasn't as uncommon as I thought it was.
dasilva
Roar Guru
I don't think it's that of a big deal The referee could miss the hand ball but that could occur whether there is change in laws or not The referee could incorrectly interpret a handball to be denying a clear goal and therefore a penalty goal was given even though a penalty should be given. Vice versa, the referee could award a penalty incorrectly when a penalty goal should be given. However in cases like that, there's not much of a injustice if the referee got the decision wrong. The defending team is hardly going to complain that the decision should be a penalty rather then a penalty goal and vice versa. In any case I just think it will reduce injustice and closed off a loop hole like in this case. Sure there will be moments when the referee gets it wrong but the consequences of that is far less likely to happen. If it does happen, it will be treated as a referee mistake instead of a product of an unfair law. I doubt the referee will have trouble at detecting handballs at the goal line. If only those handball are awarded a goal then that would be an improvement.
Midfielder
Guest
Das I agree ... would add to your list of who would do it... many moons ago in a local match between North Rocks and Blacktown ... final ... ten minutes left scores 2-1 in favour of North Rocks ... Blacktown get an indirect inside the six yard box... Everyone is on the line ... a certain midfielder knocked the ball over the post .. was sent off and Blacktown missed the penalty .. North Rocks lost the grand final the next week.. Its hard but cleared off the line would be how I would word it.
Nam Turk
Guest
Too much in the hands of a referee. A handball in the box is a penalty. That could be at the edge of the box, 18 yards from goal, or on the goal line itself. It's the same box; thus, it's the same penalty. There's not always room to read between the lines. We already have enough trouble standardizing fouls and interpreting offside calls.