One of the main frustrations in football is a lack of consistency, so last night was the perfect example of how flawed the handball law can be.
Fulham had a goal chalked off when the ball struck an arm that was pinned to a player’s side and he was side-on to the incident. That means the only way to avoid the ball hitting his arm was to raise them above his head or away from his body, so then it would be seen as an “unnatural position” if the ball then hit those outstretched arms.
The handball rule continues to confuse…
Fulham were denied an equaliser by VAR last night – was it the correct call?
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 5, 2021
There was then an incident in the later game between Chelsea and Liverpool where the ball hit Kante on the arm as it was outstretched – It wasn’t a “stonewall” penalty, but it was certainly more of an offence than the Fulham incident.
READ MORE: Video: Liverpool denied a penalty after huge handball shout against Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante
Thankfully it looks like some change has finally happened, as it’s been confirmed that the law has been altered as a result:
#Breaking Accidental handball leading to a team-mate scoring a goal or having a goal-scoring opportunity will no longer be considered an offence, the game’s law-making body the International Football Association Board has announce pic.twitter.com/cAXxEoGpxZ
— PA Dugout (@PAdugout) March 5, 2021
While that’s a positive thing to see, it’s not going to be any consolation to Fulham if they end up going down by a point at the end of the season, but hopefully it leads to less controversy going forward.