UEFA President Aleksandar Ceferin has written to FIFA President Gianni Infantino requesting changes to the handball law.
The handball law was adopted in March 2019 following the widespread introduction of VAR in domestic leagues around the world.
VAR has seen a dramatic change in handball law / Catherine Ivel/Getty Images
The law is now quite strict, stating that a handball must be awarded if the ball hits the arm of a player who is clearly outside the ‘body line’.
This results in many penalty decisions being handed down for handball’s most severe and accidental cases, leaving players, managers and supporters often feeling unfair and frustrated.
“Attempts to strictly define the cases where handling the ball is a crime have resulted in many unfair decisions that are causing frustration and pain in the football community,” Ceferin wrote. [via AP News].
“The spirit of the game must be preserved at all times. I believe that going back to the previous wording, perhaps revised and integrated by a clause that disallows hand/arm goals, is an option. into account.
Raines was on the receiving end of a tough handball call on Wednesday evening / Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Getty Images
“It often happens that the ball accidentally hits the hands or arms of the players. But the spirit of the law is clearly that, as these cases are inevitable, they should not be penalized so that more pieces of the game Avoiding and even allowing dangerous situations to decide the outcome of matches.”
Ceferin wrote to FIFA about the matter on October 27 – but his words were reinforced during Chelsea’s Champions League victory over Rennes on Wednesday evening.
Rennes full-back Dalbert was shown a second yellow card when Tammy Abraham’s effort deflected off the defender’s leg and onto his outstretched arm, resulting in the Blues being awarded a penalty and Dalbert receiving his marching orders. .
The UEFA president is targeting the law to be changed at IFAB’s annual meeting early next year.