The International Board, the international body that makes the laws governing football around the world, has met to review and update the rules. At the table were issues such as the interpretation of what is hand, an extra path due to shock and the effects of COVID. The IFAB decided to delay, compared to other years, the entry into force of the new regulation and the approved one will be in force on July 1, so it will not be used in the Eurocup.
Regarding one of the most controversial laws in recent years, that of the hands, they have reintroduced clarifications after numerous complaints from footballers, coaches and managers. “Since the interpretation of the actions by hand has not always been consistent due to incorrect applications of the law, the members confirmed that not every hand / arm touch of a player with the ball is punishable”. Regarding the criterion that the hand / arm makes the player's body “abnormally larger”, it was confirmed that “the referees should continue to use their judgment to determine the validity of the hand / arm position in relation to the player's movement in that specific situation “, says the International Board.
In this way, the criterion for signaling a hand is as follows: it is considered a hand if you deliberately touch the ball with your hand (for example, by moving your hand or arm towards the ball); touches the ball with his hand / arm when he has unnaturally enlarged his body (a player is considered to have unnaturally enlarged his body when his hand / arm position is not a consequence of body movement for that specific situation, running the risk of the ball hitting your arm); or if he scores on the opponent's goal immediately even accidentally directly with his hand / arm. An accidental hand leading a teammate to score a goal or to have a scoring opportunity will no longer be considered an offense.
What's more, The IFAB emphasizes that when drawing offside it must be taken into account that the area of the upper arm to the armpit is not an offense and consequently a line must be drawn from that point, since a goal scored with that area would be valid.
Additional change for shock
The International Board will continue with its studies until August 2022 to see if it adds an additional change in the event of a concussion of a footballer to protect his physical integrity. In addition, on the substitutions, they agreed on the following: “Regarding the temporary modification of Rule 3, which allows teams to use up to five substitutes in matches of high-level competitions (for club competitions ending on December 31, 2021 and national team competitions ending July 31, 2022), members agreed that the current impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on soccer should remain under review “.