NEW handball rule announced by UEFA

Robin Bairner

• 23 Sept 2024 13:45 BST
• 3 min read

UEFA has confirmed an immediate change in the handball rule that will impact matches in the Champions League and international matches, according to a report from Spain.

Relevo indicates that European football’s governing body has instructed international referees to a tweak to the law that promises to impact top clubs around the continent.

It comes in the wake of controversy at Euro 2024, when Spain’s Marc Cucurella was not punished after a ball struck his hand during extra-time of the quarter-final clash against Germany. The referee on that occasion was Anthony Taylor with Stuart Atwell on VAR.

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Two months later, UEFA’s Referee Committee has reportedly decided that this was an error and should have been a penalty. It is a decision that promises to have far-reaching consequences.

Relevo claims to have seen a document from UEFA that details what will now be considered a penalty for handball.

“Following the latest UEFA guidelines, hand-to-ball contact that stops a shot on goal should be punished more strictly, and in most cases a penalty kick should be awarded, unless the defender's arm is very close to the body or on the body,” the document says.

“In this case, the defender stops the shot on goal with his arm, which is not very close to the body, making itself bigger, so a penalty kick should have been awarded.”

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The only consolation for defenders is that in the case of Cucurella’s handball, he would not receive a yellow card.

“No disciplinary action is required,” UEFA tells referees.

Handball law confusion incoming

UEFA is set to fall into line with the laws of IFAB (International Football Association Board), which indicates that that it is a penalty when a player “touches the ball with his hand or arm, when the hand or arm is positioned in an unnatural way and causes the body to take up more space”.

On the other hand, the Premier League, for example, has taken a more lenient approach to handball in the box this season, and this alternative viewpoint is likely to cause confusion for supporters watching teams in European football.