Any handball by the scorer rules out the goal, here's the rule | OneFootball

IFAB states that the ball cannot touch the hand or arm of the player who scores, even if unintentional

Flamengo faced Botafogo this Sunday (30) in the 25th round of the Brasileirão. Right at the start of the match, striker Arthur Cabral even found the net for the team from General Severiano. However, the goal was disallowed for a handball by the number 9. The play sparked some controversy, but the rule for this type of situation leaves no room for debate.

Football treats a handball by the goal scorer with absolute strictness. If the ball touches the hand or arm of the player who scored, the play must be disallowed. The Laws of the Game from the International Football Association Board (IFAB) define the criterion very clearly.

What the rule says about handball

Law 12 of the Laws of the Game addresses the issue with no room for interpretation. It determines that the referee must disallow the goal whenever the ball touches the hand of the player who scores, even if the contact is accidental. Therefore, it makes little difference whether the player deliberately deflected the ball or whether it accidentally hit his arm during the play: the goal does not count.

The rule also covers indirect situations. If the ball touches the attacker’s hand and, immediately afterward, he himself pushes the ball into the net, the referee disallows the play in the same way. Even so, IFAB preserves one important distinction: when the handball comes from a teammate and not from the goal scorer, the referee evaluates the play using other criteria, such as proximity and whether the action was intentional.

How the referee applies the rule in practice

During a match, the video assistant referee (VAR) automatically reviews any goal with a suspected handball before it is confirmed. In this way, the technology reduces errors and avoids controversies that once led to endless debates in stadiums. Even so, some plays still divide opinion, especially when the contact happens very quickly or through unintentional contact with the player’s own body.

IFAB justifies the strictness of the rule by the need to preserve the essence of football as a sport played with the feet. In this way, any advantage gained with the hand or arm, even if unintentional, undermines the logic of the game and, for that reason, the goal cannot stand. Players and coaching staffs, therefore, constantly train arm positioning during finishing plays to avoid harming the scoreline.

Despite the clarity of the written rule, many matches still spark debate on social media whenever the referee disallows a goal for handball. However, the rule follows the same logic in all official competitions, from the World Cup to state championships, and it is up to the referee to apply it without exceptions.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.