I agree with Tom that handball is the biggest issue with VAR. I mentioned it on here before. I think in the world cup threads. Though I don't think this rule change will solve it. I would prefer a lesser punishment for accidental handball. I do think the whole silhouette thing should help the definition though.
We'll see when the new law comes in plus VAR. I guarantee penalties for handball will more than double. If not treble.
Which will ruin the game. We might as well give up actually playing football and just have penalty shootouts instead.
Yeah I think that's one thing we've agreed on regarding var, I said post world cup that if we have to have it at all then it shouldn't be used for handballs at all as taken frame by frame, they pretty much all look deliberate. Yes this change should help a bit but they've still made it massively open to interpretation. What a time to be alive!
I quite like that it's been clarified now and is no way down to interpretation, at least that way we'll get consistency
If I slip on a wet surface I can guarantee that my arms will come away from my body in order to help me regain my balance. In no way am I putting my arms in an unnatural position nor am I attempting to increase the size of my body shape, I am just reacting to the circumstances to reduce the risk of injuring myself. Players that slide into a tackle or in an attempt to block a cross will use their arms to maintain balance during the slide. Again their arms will not be in an unnatural position, even if they are away from their body. In fact I would say keeping their arms by their sides, or as we already see, tucked behind their backs is having their arms in an unnatural position, because it then makes changing direction less fluid if a player tries to go past them, putting the defender at a disadvantage, because the guy on the ball will be using his arms in any position he wants to help give him the impetus to change direction. Bottom line is that the powers that be, in an attempt to assist referees, are just changing the focus from deliberate handball to unnatural arm positions. It will still be open to interpretation and with or without VAR, big team players will undoubtedly have a wider natural shape than those of smaller clubs, for certain refs.
I hate it when a cross bounces off an arm during a sliding block. penalty is bollocks but no foul is bollocks too, attackers deserve something.
Which shows it’s a rule written by someone who hasn’t played. If you jump to head a ball, you’re taught to use your arms to generate power. You could be mid air with your arms up at shoulder level, bent for power when the opponent nips in and heads it first, with the ball bouncing onto your arm. Hand ball. Awful.
@tomw24 ...are you saying if the ball hits an arm that is 2cm below shoulder height, they won’t give a penalty? They’ll be loads given next season for that while a player is jumping.
You maybe right but the rules from next season state whether accidental or not, if your arm is not in a natural position then it's handball. Apparently it's to stop players feeling the need to put their hands behind their backs from free kicks. Which is a bit of a daft reason. Actually that's a bloody stupid reason. Players shouldn't be reluctant to put their arms down their side. Actually, I have been spouting bullshit trying to justify the new wording of the law haven't I?
Maybe the law should be that handball should not be penalised unless it is clearly deliberate. Oh, wait...
