Shooting Star
Well-known member
Watching Palace City highlights on MOTD today. Cross comes in, Palace player has hands out as he tries to block the cross. Ball hits his foot, bounces onto his outstretched arms. Ref gives penalty but VAR overturns it as apparently the handball rules say if it bounces off a part of the body onto the arms it's not a foul.
However, if the City player had hit his ball at the Palace player's arms directly, it most certainly would have been given as a penalty as his arms would have been adjudged as being in an unnatural position (hence why many defenders are going into block the ball with their arms behind their backs). But because he hit it at his foot causing it to bounce up onto his unnaturally positioned arms, it's not a penalty? Bizarre. The rules of handball have to be looked at. I don't care which way they determine, but there has to be some consistency.
However, if the City player had hit his ball at the Palace player's arms directly, it most certainly would have been given as a penalty as his arms would have been adjudged as being in an unnatural position (hence why many defenders are going into block the ball with their arms behind their backs). But because he hit it at his foot causing it to bounce up onto his unnaturally positioned arms, it's not a penalty? Bizarre. The rules of handball have to be looked at. I don't care which way they determine, but there has to be some consistency.