Law 12 · Handball
Handball in football: when hand or arm contact is an offence
A practical guide to the handball rule: deliberate handling, arm position, accidental contact, restarts and disciplinary cards.
Not every touch of the hand or arm is an offence
The Laws do not punish every contact between the ball and a player’s hand or arm. For handball decisions, the upper boundary of the arm is in line with the bottom of the armpit. The referee judges the action and position of the arm, not simply whether contact occurred.
Deliberate handling and an unnaturally bigger body
A handball offence occurs when a player deliberately touches the ball with the hand or arm, for example by moving the hand or arm towards the ball. It is also an offence when the hand or arm position makes the body unnaturally bigger and that position is not a consequence of, or justifiable by, the player’s movement for the situation.
Accidental contact and goals
Accidental hand or arm contact is not automatically an offence. However, a player cannot score directly with the hand or arm, and a goal is not allowed if the scorer handles the ball, even accidentally, immediately before scoring. Other accidental contacts are judged under the normal handball criteria.
Restart, penalty and disciplinary cards
A handball offence is normally punished with a direct free kick, or a penalty kick if a defender commits it inside their own penalty area. The goalkeeper is not guilty of a handball offence for handling the ball inside their own penalty area, although other goalkeeper handling restrictions can apply. A handball does not automatically mean a yellow or red card; disciplinary action depends on the circumstances.