Looking for any referee's input here. What is the restart if a defender has an inadvertant handball inside the box? Does the degree of the handball (intentional/unintentional) change the call?

Hand to ball =pk
Ball to hand=play on
If the defender moved his hand to the ball that is intentionally handling. If the ball hits the defenders hand while play is occurring then it's play on. Tough call to make in a split second

soccerdad1 wrote:Hand to ball =pk
Ball to hand=play on
If the defender moved his hand to the ball that is intentionally handling. If the ball hits the defenders hand while play is occurring then it's play on. Tough call to make in a split second

Not quite so simple, ball to hand, but the player could have moved his or her hand, or the player uses the handling to his/her advantage or has his/her hand in a unnatural positon, i.e. extended from the body, it is a handling offense.

US Soccer has a position letter for referees on this topic:

http://www.ussoccer.com/Referees/Laws-of-the-Game/Position-Papers.aspx


What are the characteristics of a clear handling offense?
• A player deliberately carries, strikes, or propels the ball with the
hand or arm
• It is the player’s action that initiates the contact with the ball
What characteristics of ball contact are clearly not handling offenses?
• The ball strikes the hand or arm (i.e., the ball initiates the contact)
• The contact is accidental (not the result of action by the player)
• The contact is the result of a purely reflexive effort at self-protection

What are the standards of judgment which the referee will apply when the
handling offense is not immediately clear?
• The distance or time within which the player had to react to avoid
contact – if there was time to avoid the contact, the likelihood of an
offense is greater
• The position of the player’s hand or arm at the time of the contact –
if the hand or arm is carried in an unnatural or unusual position
(e.g., high up in the air or, while defending against a free kick, far
away from the body), the likelihood of an offense is greater
• Directing the ball after initial accidental or reflexive contact – if the
player takes advantage to control or push the ball away, a handling
offense has occurred
The referee, with input from the assistant referees, must make the
immediate decision based on the best available evidence in an increasingly fastpaced
game. This difficult decision must be respected and final.

If I understand correctly and can restate your question: Is there either a direct kick (PK in the penalty area) OR an indirect kick, depending on the severity of the handball? I.e whether it was, say, grabbing the ball vs having your had out to the side to make your defensive presence bigger vs falling on the ball, and in trying to get up, the player pushes the ball with his arm? Intentional handling the ball is always a direct kick, so a PK if in the box. I would want to make very sure the handling was indeed intentional before awarding a PK and an almost certain goal.

[quote="hoff1032"]Looking for any referee's input here. What is the restart if a defender has an inadvertant handball inside the box? Does the degree of the handball (intentional/unintentional) change the call?[/quote]

I have seen where players have intentionally swatted down a shot on goal and been red carded for intentional denial of a goal scoring opportunity. I once saw an intentional swat at mid field result in a red card for unsporting conduct. That aspect though does not affect the restart.

I have seen where players have intentionally swatted down a shot on goal and been red carded for intentional denial of a goal scoring opportunity. I once saw an intentional swat at mid field result in a red card for unsporting conduct. That aspect though does not affect the restart.[/quote]

Very true.
I would not card a young defender from picking up the ball in the box.
I would red card an older player if he did it to deny a goal.

The restart, however, is always a direct kick.

rocks wrote:If I understand correctly and can restate your question: Is there either a direct kick (PK in the penalty area) OR an indirect kick, depending on the severity of the handball? I.e whether it was, say, grabbing the ball vs having your had out to the side to make your defensive presence bigger vs falling on the ball, and in trying to get up, the player pushes the ball with his arm? Intentional handling the ball is always a direct kick, so a PK if in the box. I would want to make very sure the handling was indeed intentional before awarding a PK and an almost certain goal.

In this instance the defender went up in the air to try and play the ball with his chest. The ball was played way up in the air and away from the goal. I think due to the strong wind that was blowing the ball caught him between the chest and arm, or else he just misjudged the ball. It was Rec U11, so in the grand scheme of things it really doesn't matter. But in a close game that ended in a 2-1 loss for our team, it was really tough to give the PK in that instance since the player was not trying to deny a scoring opportunity. I don't deny that the ref had the right to make the call he did, I'm just saying it wass a harsh call.

hoff1032 wrote:

rocks wrote:If I understand correctly and can restate your question: Is there either a direct kick (PK in the penalty area) OR an indirect kick, depending on the severity of the handball? I.e whether it was, say, grabbing the ball vs having your had out to the side to make your defensive presence bigger vs falling on the ball, and in trying to get up, the player pushes the ball with his arm? Intentional handling the ball is always a direct kick, so a PK if in the box. I would want to make very sure the handling was indeed intentional before awarding a PK and an almost certain goal.

In this instance the defender went up in the air to try and play the ball with his chest. The ball was played way up in the air and away from the goal. I think due to the strong wind that was blowing the ball caught him between the chest and arm, or else he just misjudged the ball. It was Rec U11, so in the grand scheme of things it really doesn't matter. But in a close game that ended in a 2-1 loss for our team, it was really tough to give the PK in that instance since the player was not trying to deny a scoring opportunity. I don't deny that the ref had the right to make the call he did, I'm just saying it wass a harsh call.

Given it's one of those tough call or non-call issues in the first place, and given I didn't see it, blah blah blah, I'd offer that I would not call handling if the ball hit the arm. It's impossible to judge intent sometimes, so if he misjudged the ball and it hit his arm, I would think it might look pretty intentional. I've heard coaches tell their defenders to keep their arms behind their backs. Playing "big" i.e. arms spread, out might surely be called handling, even if the kick came from so close that the defender could not possibly react in time to play it intentionally.