@Hoddle Is A God it has to be said, that you’re almost certainly the saddest **** I’ve ever come across on t’interweb I just had to get that out there, as you were lads
So you can back up that claim with the evidence that Arsenal should be in a relegation battle as a result then ?
In the FIFA Laws of the Game? Don't remember it saying anything about natural positions, to be honest. Could be wrong. My understanding was that it was a ref's directive, rather than anything in the laws.
Yep I think ref's directive. The rules quote the conditions around deliberate handball, but the extra info around determining it are down to the ref : In Fifa's Laws of the Game 2005, Law 12 says a free-kick or penalty will be awarded if a player "handles the ball deliberately (except for the goalkeeper within his own penalty area)". Page 67 of the document gives "additional information for referees, assistant referees and fourth officials". It adds: "Referees are reminded that deliberately handling the ball is normally punished only by a direct free-kick or penalty kick if the offence occurred inside the penalty area. "A caution or dismissal is not normally required." However, the document fails to describe what constitutes deliberate handball, which places the responsibility firmly on the referee and referees' assistants. Former Premier League referee David Elleray said the referee's interpretation depends on whether the hand or arm is in an "unnatural" position at the point of contact. Referees often consult their assistants on decisions "Referees look at two specifics - did the hand or arm go towards the ball or in a manner which would block the ball, or is the hand in a position where it would not normally be?" Elleray told BBC Sport. "The challenging decisions are if the defending player spreads their arms to make themselves bigger. "If the ball hits the arm then the referee must decide whether this action was to deliberately block the ball or whether the player has raised their arms to protect themselves - especially if the ball is hit at speed.
Yeah, that's what I thought. It's basically to stop defenders from spreadeagling themselves and then claiming ball to hand.
Yep needs to be in there, otherwise as you say, defenders would abuse the rule by doing a star jump and then claiming it was ball to hand
In other news. Ashley Young has been given a 3 match ban for elbowing Tadic http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42528024
If that had been Ferguson in charge, the FA wouldn't have done it. They know Maureen is going to have a bitch fest anyway, so there's no reason not to It wasn't the most violent thing I've ever seen, and no doubt loads of these incidents go unpunished. But it's good to see that the FA will clamp down on it.
