🎯 Here are the key situations that count as handball now:

Problem 1: Nobody Knows What “Unnatural Position” Means

This is the elephant in the room. What does “unnatural” actually mean? If you’re standing with your arms by your side and the ball hits your hand, is that natural or unnatural? What if you’re reaching for the ball? What if you’re jumping and your arm is out for balance?

Here’s the thing – defenders have arms. Players need to balance. But the rule seems to punish them for having arms attached to their bodies. I’ve seen penalties given where a player’s arm was literally in the most natural position imaginable, just… hanging there – because apparently that’s “unnatural” now.

The common sense “rule” we mentioned earlier could play a big part here, but it appears not to, with referees seemingly hiding behind the letter of the law.

Problem 2: The Inconsistency

One week, a handball that looks the same as the week before is given as a penalty. The following week, in what appears to be an identical situation, it isn’t given. Why? Because different referees interpret the rule differently. That’s not football – that’s a lottery.

Having said that, of course, it isn’t easy to compare one decision too rigidly with another, as each has its own unique set of circumstances. That’s not going to stop the debate though 🙂

We’ve also had situations where VAR gets involved and spends five minutes looking at angles, slow motion, this view, that view… and then gives a decision that half the stadium disagrees with. Meanwhile, the game’s stopped, the momentum’s gone, and everyone’s annoyed.

Problem 3: It’s Changed What Defenders Can Do

Defenders now have to think about where their arms are. At some point, this has gone too far. How often have you seen defenders focusing so much on making sure that their arms are out of the way that they forget to actually defend! Players are getting penalised for things that aren’t fouls in any other part of the game. A 30-yard handball decision that changes the entire match? That’s not right.

Problem 4: VAR Has Made It Worse, Not Better

Here’s a controversial take: VAR was supposed to get the big decisions right. Instead, it’s made the handball rule even more contentious. Now we’re stopping the game to check whether a player’s hand was precisely in the correct position, in slow motion from 47 different angles. That’s not in the spirit of the game.

And another thing – VAR seems to overthink handball. Sometimes the referee on the pitch makes a common-sense decision, only for VAR to overrule it. Or VAR calls something in that the referee completely missed. The inconsistency is maddening.

📅 The Simple Days: Before 2012

For most of football history, the handball rule was dead simple: if you deliberately handled the ball, it was a handball offence. That was it. Deliberate. That was the keyword.

Defenders could have their arms where they needed them. Players could jump, and their arms could come out naturally. The referee made a simple decision: did they deliberately handle it? Yes or no? Done.

This meant there were fewer stoppages, fewer controversial decisions, and frankly, the game was better for it. Handball decisions were rare because they had to be blatant and deliberate.

📅 The First Big Change: 2012-2015

In 2012, FIFA began making the rules more complicated. They introduced the concept of “making the body bigger” – the idea that if a player’s arm position made them bigger and unnatural, it could be considered handball even without deliberate intent.

This seemed like a good idea on paper. It was supposed to stop defending, feeling like cheating. But it opened a Pandora’s box of interpretation.

📅 The VAR Era Begins: 2018 Onwards

When VAR was introduced, the handball rule suddenly became a significant focus. Every handball decision, literally every single one, could be reviewed and looked at. And re-looked at, and analysed frame by frame.

This is where things really went off the rails. Suddenly, referees weren’t making commonsense decisions anymore. They were looking for any marginal contact, plus we have a team of video refs, looking for an opportunity to call for a decision. The game changed overnight.

📅 2020-2021: The Attempt to Simplify (Sort Of)

By 2020, even FIFA realised things had gotten out of hand. They tried to simplify the rule. But in practice? Nothing really changed because the interpretation was still fuzzy.

📅 Present Day: Chaos

Here we are now, and the handball rule is still a mess. We’ve got officials and VAR operators making marginal calls about arm positions that affect entire matches. We’ve got fans losing their minds. We’ve got some of the best moments in football being ruined by reviewing a handball that happened 40 yards away from where the ball ended up.

Option 1: Go Back to Deliberate Intent

Honestly? I would vote to go back to the old days. Handball is only handball if it’s deliberate. Refs make a simple call: did they mean to handle it? If yes, it’s a foul. If no, play on.

✓ Pros: Eliminates 80% of controversy. Speeds the game up. Let’s defenders actually defend.

✗ Cons: Sometimes players get away with obvious helping moments.

Option 2: Handball in the Box Only

Only call handball as a penalty if it directly prevents a goal. A handball on the line that blocks a shot? Penalty, (and obviously a red card). A handball deep in midfield that’s not affecting anything? Play on.

✓ Pros: Reduces marginal calls. Focuses on what actually matters.

✗ Cons: Sometimes hard to define “directly prevents a goal.”

Option 3: A Clear, Objective Handball Line

What if we drew an actual line? Like: if the ball hits your hand above shoulder height and you’re defending, it’s handball. Below shoulder height? It’s not (unless deliberate).

✓ Pros: Clear. Objective. Eliminates interpretation. Everyone knows where they stand.

✗ Cons: Some situations would look silly. Hard to define for different contexts. Perhaps not too different to the current thinking.

Option 4: Limit VAR’s Role

What if handball were one of those decisions that VAR couldn’t review unless it were absolutely blatant?

If it takes more than 30 seconds of looking at multiple angles to figure out if it was handball, then it probably wasn’t obvious enough to overturn the on-field decision.

✓ Pros: Speeds up the game. Takes away the frustration of endless reviews.

✗ Cons: Might miss some obvious handballs.

Option 5: The Common-Sense Approach

The best solution might be the simplest: let referees use their common sense. Is the handball clearly affecting the outcome of the play? Is it obviously deliberate? Is it obviously an accident that nobody can blame the player for?

If the answer’s no to any of these, don’t give it as a foul. Trust the officials to make sensible decisions rather than trying to legislate every possible scenario.

My Solution:

Handball is when a player deliberately handles the ball, or when they handle it with their arm in a position that’s clearly making their body bigger to block a shot or a pass they were never going to get.

That’s it. No more analysing frame-by-frame. No more 10-minute VAR reviews for marginal incidents.

And crucially: If it takes more than a few seconds to figure out whether it’s handball, then it’s not a clear enough incident to change the game.