In a new age of the Premier League and other leagues alike with Video Assistant Referee officially coming into play, rules have been reformed this week from the Football Association.
The rules have changed because they’ve needed clarification for a number of years. The FA is trying to improve their laws of the game, as commentators and analysts constantly fail to agree on what is and what is not a handball or a foul. For a long time, there also wasn’t a consistency with every referee, and many disagreements were happening on specifically handball rules. The FA’s main intention is to make rules clear and concise.
The simple concept of a handball still remains a foul, but the rules have been modified to help make the foul more definitive. Hitting the arm or the hand is a handball only if it makes the body “unnaturally bigger,” according to the FA website. The arm or hand can rarely be above the player’s own shoulder without it being out of a natural position, so if the hand or the arm is unnaturally above the arm and it’s hit, a foul will be called. More obviously, if the arm is far from its own body and is extended out and hit, a handball will be called as well.
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One of the more definitive exceptions that comes with the new rules is that if a player slides on the ground, and the player supports themselves with a hand on the ground, it won’t be given a handball if it’s hit. This rule was changed because it won’t be an intentional handball as the player is in the action of sliding and supporting their weight from hitting the ground completely. Also, if a player is in the act of falling, and has no control of their body in the process of falling and touches the ball while going down, no foul will be called.
A foul will not be given if the ball touches a player’s arm directly after they head the ball down or flick it up with their feet. No handball will be given as well if an opposing player heads down the ball to another player’s arm. That rule has been eliminated.
With other rules regarding substitutions, according to Football London, the Premier League released a statement about subs. It reads, “In order to minimize the potential for time-wasting, any player being substituted must leave the pitch at the nearest point on the touchline or goal line. The only exception will be if the referee indicates that the player can leave quickly at the halfway line or a different point because of a safety or security issue, or due to injury.”
The opening game of the Premier League is Aug. 9, when Liverpool take on Norwich City to kick off the new season. The new rules will be implemented this season, as well as VAR, for the first time in the history of the Premier League.
