When an outfield player denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball and a penalty kick is awarded, the player will be sent off.
However, when an outfield player denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by committing a handball offence whereby they make themselves unjustifiably bigger but without deliberate movement of the hand / arm to the ball and the referee awards a penalty kick, it will now result in a caution rather than a red card.
Deliberate handball + DOGSO = penalty + red card
Non-deliberate handball yet body unjustifiably bigger + DOGSO = penalty + caution
A player’s position at a restart is determined by the position of their feet or any part of their body which is touching the ground, except as outlined in Law 11 (Offside).
The change for 2024/25 means that players who do not impact will not be penalised and, therefore, the same principle as goalkeeper encroachment will now apply to all players.
Examples of impact include:
Alongside implementing the aforementioned law changes, officials will once again have the full support of the football authorities to deliver the stronger measures that were introduced ahead of last season, including maintaining a robust approach to dealing with participant behaviour when it falls below expected standards, both on the field and in the technical area.
Looking to maintain an average of nine minutes of enhanced ball in-play time across the three divisions during 2023/24 season (up 9% on 2022/23), the exact time lost when certain game events occur will again be added. Events considered for this include goals and celebrations – a slight change for 2024/25 will see time added after an initial 30 seconds has elapsed. For example, if a goal and the subsequent celebration takes one minute, officials will add on 30 seconds at the end of the relevant half. Time lost for substitutions, injuries requiring treatment, penalties and red cards will also be included.
To support the accurate calculation of additional time, stadium clocks, scoreboards or giant screen timings will continue to run until the completion of each half, including any additional time at the end of the first or second half.
Clear and deliberate actions that are impactful in delaying the restart of play will also see players cautioned.
While protecting player safety will continue to be of paramount importance, the flow and tempo of the English game will again be recognised with match officials adopting a high threshold for penalising challenges with the emphasis on not all contact constitutes a foul.
As per 2023/24, players who require assessment on the pitch for a potential injury will receive treatment off the field of play, apart from certain circumstances as laid out in Law 5 of the Laws of the Game:
After the restart of play, a period of time - not less than 30 seconds - will be afforded for the player to be treated and they will not return to the pitch before this period has elapsed. As always, the player’s return to the pitch requires the referee's permission and may be delayed beyond 30 seconds if the phase of play is in the vicinity of the player looking to re-enter the pitch.
In circumstances where a player declines the physio, if a team-mate clearly delays or refuses to re-start the game that team-mate will be issued a yellow card. This will promote player safety, which is of paramount importance to the match officials, and act as a deterrent to players who request attention as a tactic to waste time or break the momentum of the game.
Handball is a subjective judgement and not every touch of a player’s hand / arm with the ball is an offence, with hand/arm position being judged in relation to body movement in that particular situation.
What constitutes a handball offence:
Arm movement
Arm position
Mitigating factors:
Holding is a continued area of emphasis and situations will be penalised when it’s sustained and has a clear impact on the opponent’s opportunity to play or challenge for the ball, including those non-footballing actions.
What to look for:
Comments
Inconsistency, not just between officials but within games by the same referee.
Also not keeping up with play.
Have I missed something written elsewhere?
Agreed. It'll be interesting if referees really crack down on this and actually award lot of penalties, and how long they do it before they ease back...
Who'd have thought that deliberate and accidental handball could be viewed differently. Much like the way it always was ....
I expect to be severely disappointed.
Just make it an offense. Far simpler.
Referees making good decisions
Referees making bad decisions
Referees making good decisions but getting slagged off on here incorrectly
Referees making bad decisions, but getting no stick on here because we benefit