Football’s rule-making body IFAB has clarified its new handball rules following a series of controversial decisions since its introduction last year, saying that the final judgment remains with the referee. The idea was to make the law clearer but many in the game, including UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, believe it has had the opposite effect. The previous, established handball law relied primarily on referees making a judgment as to whether a handball was intentional or not. “It was re-emphasised that the final judgment remains with the referee and not every touch of a player’s hand/arm with the ball is an offence,” IFAB said following a virtual meeting with the Football and Technical Advisory panels. “In terms of a definition of the term ‘unnaturally bigger’, referees should judge the position of the hand/arm in relation to the player’s movement in that phase of play.”

Source: The Star November 24, 2020 21:00 UTC