Handball in Football: When Is It an Offence?
Hand contact alone does not settle the decision. Learn how the offence, the restart and any disciplinary sanction are assessed.
Separate three questions when watching a possible handball: was there an offence, where did it happen, and does it warrant a card? A still image showing contact with an arm cannot answer all three.
When is contact an offence?
Under IFAB Law 12, contact is not automatically punishable. Deliberate handling is an offence, as is an arm position that makes the body unnaturally bigger without justification from the player's movement. The arm's upper boundary is the bottom of the armpit. A player also cannot score directly with their hand or arm, or immediately after contact with it, even accidentally.
An example of permitted contact
IFAB's simplified explanation describes a falling player whose supporting arm lies between their body and the ground. Contact there is not an offence, subject to the exception for that player scoring directly or immediately afterwards. Watch the full fall before judging the hand position.
Does a penalty mean a red card?
No. The Law 14 examples distinguish the sanctions. When a handball offence denies a goal or obvious scoring opportunity and a penalty is awarded, deliberate handling brings a red card; non-deliberate handling brings yellow. A non-deliberate handball offence stopping a promising attack carries no caution for that reason when a penalty is awarded.
What can VAR review?
The VAR protocol permits reviews within specified categories, including goals and penalties, for a clear and obvious error or a serious missed incident. The referee retains the final decision. A television replay does not mean every hand contact requires a review.
Start with the player's movement and the point of contact. Then consider the offence separately from the card. That approach is more useful than assuming every touch inside the penalty area has the same consequence.
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