Rule changes for handball and offside introduced for 2020/2021 season
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) has presented the list of rule changes to be introduced to the sport for the 2020/2021 season, with the handball violation having notably been clarified.
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Earlier this week, the IFAB published this following text on its official website:
“Law 1 – The Field of Play
“• Goalposts and the crossbar may be a combination of the four basic shapes
“Law 10 – Determining the Outcome of a Match
“• Yellow cards (YCs) and warnings are not carried forward into kicks from the penalty mark
(KFPM)
“• See also changes to Law 14 relating to KFPM
“Law 11 – Offside
“• Deliberate handball by a defending player is considered ‘deliberate play’ for offside
Law 12 – Fouls and Misconduct
“• Handball:
“• the boundary between the shoulder and the arm is defined as the bottom of the armpit
(see the diagram on p. 14)
“• ‘accidental’ handball by an attacking player (or team-mate) is only penalised if it occurs
‘immediately’ before a goal or clear goal-scoring opportunity
“• A goalkeeper can receive a YC or be sent off (RC) for ‘illegally’ touching the ball a second
time after a restart (e.g. goal kick, free kick etc.) even if the touch is with the hand/arm
“• Any offence (not only a foul) which ‘interferes with or stops a promising attack’ should
result in a YC
“• A player who fails to respect the 4m required distance at a dropped ball should receive a YC
“• If the referee plays advantage or allows a ‘quick’ free kick for an offence which ‘interfered
with or stopped a promising attack’, the YC is not issued
“Law 14 – The Penalty Kick
“• An offence by the goalkeeper is not penalised if a penalty kick misses the goal or rebounds
from the goal (without a touch from the goalkeeper) unless the offence clearly affected the
Kicker
“• The goalkeeper is warned for the first offence; it is a YC for any further offence(s)
“• The kicker is penalised if the goalkeeper and the kicker offend at exactly the same time
VAR protocol
“• Only one ‘TV signal’ is required for a VAR-only review”
This image shows the definition of the handball rule which will be used next season:
The changes have been made with the goal of eradicating mistakes and increasing the clarity in calls issued by officials. During the 2018/2019 season, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology has been used in the majority of championships - including the Super League - across Europe, but there was still plenty of controversy involving offside and handball.
In early March, 3D hawk-eye technology was supposed to be introduced for the Super League playoffs, but the coronavirus pandemic prevented that from happening. The vast majority of leagues are currently suspended with COVID-19 still spreading.
The start of the 2020/2021 campaign is likely to be delayed until October.
