This archive report was first published on 15 July 2020.
Published on July 15, 2020, the current handball rule has left many in the soccer world perplexed. The rule, which was introduced this season, states that any handball in the build-up to a goal means it has to be ruled out, no matter how slight.
Forwards have seen goals chalked off for almost imperceptible handballs, while defenders have conceded penalties for unintentional ones in innocuous situations because their arm was seen as making the body “unnaturally bigger.”
One of the most extreme cases saw Cagliari forward Giovanni Simeone denied one of the best Serie A goals of the season against Atalanta. The ball brushed his hand from a defender’s header, was collected by another Cagliari team mate and then passed back to Simeone who curled it into the net.
However, under the current rules, the goal was disallowed because of a handball in the build-up. Cagliari coach Walter Zenga said, “That goal was disallowed because of a rule invented by someone who likes those table football games, where the playing figures do not have arms. It’s not in the spirit of the game.”
There have been a plethora of similar cases, most of them only visible to VAR officials who often take several minutes to make a decision. Defenders risk giving away penalties, even when there is no hint of a scoring chance and no possibility to get out of the ball’s way.
Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini said, “What do we do, cut off the player’s arms?” The rule will be slightly more specific from next season, saying that goals will only be disallowed if scored “immediately” after a handball, but what would happen in a case like Simeone’s remains unclear.
