🖐️ HANDBALL: THE TRICKIEST RULE
PAGE 1 OF 5, HANDS OFF THE BALL
THE BASIC RULE
WHAT IS HANDBALL?
Football is mostly a feet-and-head game. Field players cannot use their hands or arms to control the ball on purpose. When they do, the referee may call a handball foul and give the other team a free kick. Goalkeepers are the big exception: inside their own penalty area they may use their hands to catch, punch, or throw the ball. Everywhere else on the pitch, even the goalkeeper must play with their feet like everyone else. That sounds simple, but the trickiest part is that not every ball-to-hand contact is a foul. The referee must decide if the touch was deliberate, accidental, or unavoidable.
⚡ DID YOU KNOW?
The word handball covers the whole arm from shoulder to fingertips. A ball that hits your sleeve, forearm, or hand can all count. That is why players tuck their arms behind their backs near the box.
HANDS OFF!
FIELD PLAYERS
🦶 Feet and head are fair game
🚫 Hands and arms are off limits
🚫 Hands and arms are off limits
GOALKEEPER ZONE
🧤 Keeper may use hands in the box
👟 Outside the box, feet only
👟 Outside the box, feet only