The basics of the laws on handling have not really changed though they have been clarified to help referees more consistently determine what is or isn't deliberate handling.

However there is a huge change that was added, that even inadvertent or accidental handling can be whistled if it results in a goal being scored. Basically IFAB decided a player should not be able to score a goal with their hand even by accident, then applied that back to the immediate buildup to the goal as well.

Here's the actual language which was added:

[html]
Handling the ball

It is an offence if a player:
...
gains possession/control of the ball after it has touched their hand/arm and then:

scores in the opponents’ goal

creates a goal-scoring opportunity

scores in the opponents’ goal directly from their hand/arm, even if accidental, including by the goalkeeper[/html]

A change in the interpretation part you may notice is when a player kicks it into his/her own hand. Most refs used to whistle most of those--the logic being something like if you did it to yourself it must be considered deliberate, but now the interpretation is the opposite:

Except for the above offences, it is not usually an offence if the ball touches a player’s hand/arm:

directly from the player’s own head or body (including the foot)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Handball rule changed

Yep. I've been a licensed ref for 5+ years and I have no idea what's a handball anymore.

Yep. Same here. What's interesting is that I hear other refs saying...they didn't change anything about handball. They just made it CLEARER!

To me a handball is as follows:

All intentional handballs are handballs. Period.
Any ball that touches the hand or arm and goes into the goal or creates a goal scoring opportunity are handballs regardless if intentional or not. Period.

Whether or not an unintentional occurrence is an offense is determined based on whether or not the hand/arm was in an unnatural position making the body bigger. They give examples of a defender going up for a defensive header on a corner and having his arm over his head and the ball hits his head and then arm. No handball ball because the thought is that the arm is in a natural position being over the head when jumping. Or for example, when the arm is outstretched to break your fall, etc.

If you disagree, please post.

The referee decides both, based on what they think they saw and think they know. Doesn't matter what parents or coaches think they saw or think they know!

Anonymous wrote:Handball rule changed

Yep. I've been a licensed ref for 5+ years and I have no idea what's a handball anymore.

dont have to clear the box on a goal kick anymore before teammate touches it

Handball rule changed

Anonymous wrote:1 - I think Blue gets it if it's intentional, meaning the player received the ball. Getting hit in the head by accident, it think it goes the other way.

2 - once a goal kick is made, it's free game and the attack can pressure. Keep in mind, they still have to be outside (offense) the box, unless it's a it's a quick kick. That prevents the offense from "stalling" the game.

#2 was described as a quick kick, so fair game. The referee has to determine if it was a quick kick or the opponent had sufficient time to leave the penalty area but did not and therefore the kick should be re-taken.

1 - I think Blue gets it if it's intentional, meaning the player received the ball. Getting hit in the head by accident, it think it goes the other way.

2 - once a goal kick is made, it's free game and the attack can pressure. Keep in mind, they still have to be outside (offense) the box, unless it's a it's a quick kick. That prevents the offense from "stalling" the game.

Anonymous wrote:Two Questions...

Say Red team boots the ball and hits the Blue player in the head and immediately goes down hurt (or even say it's U11 or younger where headers aren't allowed inadvertent headers cause a drop ball), who gets the dropped ball? The law seems to say the team that TOUCHED the ball last. So Blue team would get the drop ball? What if the ball hits the Blue player in the head and goes to a red player before the ref blows the whistle? Would the Red team get the dropped ball?

Goal kicks....say the kicking team is playing quick and doesn't wait for the non-kicking team to leave the penalty area before taking the goal kick. Can the non-kicking team player turn and pressure once the ball is kicked? or does he/she have to leave the penalty area first?

For your first question, the ball goes to the team who last had possession. In your scenarios I think that would be the red team.

The question about which goal kicks was clarified by IFAB in August. See #2 here: https://theifab.com/news/clarification-law-16-the-goal-kick

Anonymous wrote:Two Questions...

Say Red team boots the ball and hits the Blue player in the head and immediately goes down hurt (or even say it's U11 or younger where headers aren't allowed inadvertent headers cause a drop ball), who gets the dropped ball? The law seems to say the team that TOUCHED the ball last. So Blue team would get the drop ball? What if the ball hits the Blue player in the head and goes to a red player before the ref blows the whistle? Would the Red team get the dropped ball?

Goal kicks....say the kicking team is playing quick and doesn't wait for the non-kicking team to leave the penalty area before taking the goal kick. Can the non-kicking team player turn and pressure once the ball is kicked? or does he/she have to leave the penalty area first?

For #1, I say blue gets it

For #2, yes the non kicking team can pressure as soon as the ball is kicked. I’m sure this will lead to some slow walking out of the box.

Two Questions...

Say Red team boots the ball and hits the Blue player in the head and immediately goes down hurt (or even say it's U11 or younger where headers aren't allowed inadvertent headers cause a drop ball), who gets the dropped ball? The law seems to say the team that TOUCHED the ball last. So Blue team would get the drop ball? What if the ball hits the Blue player in the head and goes to a red player before the ref blows the whistle? Would the Red team get the dropped ball?

Goal kicks....say the kicking team is playing quick and doesn't wait for the non-kicking team to leave the penalty area before taking the goal kick. Can the non-kicking team player turn and pressure once the ball is kicked? or does he/she have to leave the penalty area first?