I don't think it had dawned on me before that a paradox is created here. A player can be cautioned (and sent off) for diving if VAR overturns a penalty and it is determined it's simulation. But the exact same play results in offside if there was a missed flag in the APP. Even though, at that point, it's advantageous for the defending team to have the opponent be booked. Oh, and simulation is a more serious offence than offside. Law 5 and 12 don't exactly jive with the VAR protocols.
2025 CAF Champions League final First Leg, 24 May 2025 Mamelodi Sundowns – Pyramids Referee: Mahmood Ismail (SDN) Second Leg, 1 June 2025 Pyramids – Mamelodi Sundowns Referee: Omar Artan (SOM) ----- What an assignment for Ismail & Artan right before WC2026. I know Artan had a very good AFCON showing awhile back.
So, here's an interesting one from this Saturday in Portugal. Porto is the defensive team here. Twitter link: FC Porto conceded the funniest penaltypic.twitter.com/JQd1JeoKwz— Troll Football (@TrollFootball) May 12, 2025 Youtube link: As one write-up stated: I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that over the last 4+ years, we've seen a lot of stuff from IFAB/FIFA that says that this should not be an offence...
I will say that despite its reputation, RFEF officiating is I think the most transparent in the world, releasing access to VAR audio like this and also having the full referee match reports for every game in the entire pyramid able to be viewed by the public
Hmm. Love to see what you're referring to. I don't like this being a HB, but hard to say he isn't making himself bigger--the arm is over his head--and I din't think the justifiable concept applies to someone waving rather than a soccer play. I think when "biggering" was a flavor of deliberate, there was a good argument this should't be a HB as there is nothing that even gives a hint of deliberate. But we have now said that unnaturally bigger is not deliberate.
May 12, 2025 The police of the Danish capital Copenhagen has launched an investigation into Diant Ramaj, reports Bold. The former Ajax goalkeeper, currently employed by FC Copenhagen, gave a headbutt to fellow goalkeeper Thomas Mikkelsen on April 13 in the city derby against Brøndby IF. What happens to the police report of Diant Ramaj? The answer has long hovered in the wind, because the silence is total at the Copenhagen Police. But now Bold can reveal that the Copenhagen Police have taken investigative steps, which means that the police authority is in the process of investigating the case against the FCK mercenary. From sources in the environment, Bold is aware that the Copenhagen Police are now in the process of investigating the case in depth. This applies, among other things, to the collection of evidence to determine whether there will be grounds for bringing charges. Since then, there is also a task in questioning the parties involved.
A penalty for this runs counter to current instruction. Despite the weird position of the arm (I assume he's gesturing for some reason), this is an unexpected ball directly from a teammate. There needs to be some sort of secondary motion that makes it deliberate. "Gotcha" refereeing at its finest.
I wouldn’t agree with the last point. Gotcha refereeing has to be something different. Like punishing someone harshly on a technicality (e.g., a caution for entering the field illegally to help with a medical emergency). This… is a product of a particular instruction not being widely known or understood. Also, it’s a somewhat stupid—and at least inconsistent—instruction. We are forcing defenders to unnaturally put their arms behind their back while defending but we are okay with them wildly gesticulating for not football purpose when a teammate is in possession? Why? I don’t know, man. On the one hand, sure, it’s a dumb penalty from nothing. But on the other, maybe don’t unnaturally raise your arm way above your head while your teammate is about to kick the ball. I can understand the philosophical arguments in both directions. Football doesn’t need to reward nothing plays with penalties but football also shouldn’t countenance this sort of blatant handball contact. Given the stuff we are punishing, I don’t shed many tears over this called even though, at the moment, the powers that be say not to.
I was going to add that point. If anything, not calling this requires you to act smarter than everyone else. Even when you are right, that’s not an enviable position to be in. In a lot of ways, despite being accurate, the no-call feels more like “gotcha refereeing” here. The instruction puts referees in a bad spot.
I may be generalizing, but I feel like a big problem with handball instruction in particular is that since it’s the most subjective call in soccer, there are so many different ways a handball can happen that it’s impossible to have every one of those situations written down in law for what people should “expect”. If they were able to think about nearly every possible instance and put a list in the LOTG, it would remove the confusion What are your guys thoughts on how they tried putting in those specifics into the rules earlier in the decade but got rid of them to now just be “unnatural position”? If those specifics still existed, there would be no argument here because “arms above the shoulder” were written into law as being a handball offense. Personally I liked it because you could immediately give reasons as to why/why not your handball decision was made.
Nah, gotcha refereeing would be actually calling goalkeeper possession for 7 seconds, or saying the goalkeeper can’t bounce the ball because technically they released it from their grasp, or YC every single FRD offense.
Wasn't there a handball from a few years ago where a Koln defender, trying to clear, hits his OWN hand with the clearance - he's clearing with his right foot and his left arm is out in front of him for balance, and IFAB said "that's not what we mean by handball. Why would someone deliberately handle the ball that way?" Not saying this isn't a handball, but he's not putting it up there to take up space or defend. He's putting it up there to gesticulate to his team mates up field and the ball hits his arm.
Basically this. The instruction now is that the arm position can be considered "justifiable" when the contact with the ball is solely the result of a deliberate play (significantly more loosely defined than for offside consideration) by oneself or by a teammate. The reasoning for the latter in particular is that the ball is unexpected (ie no one expects their teammate to kick the ball directly into their arm), and the player has no competitive reason to be making any attempt to block the ball. The gesture looks goofy, for sure, and I'm not really sure what its purpose was here, but it's still an unexpected ball. The defender has no reason to block a teammate's clearance.
I know I'm arguing against "them" and not you here, but I find this all to be moronic. We moved away from "deliberate handball" as the punishable offence years ago. So there are all sorts of scenarios where we punish what are pretty clearly unintentional handballs. Yes, the guidance and instructions around unnatural position and such are meant to give guardrails where we are punishing handballs that could or do, let's say, give the defender a competitive advantage. But the fact is we (at least officials at the VAR-level) are now instructed and forced to punish non-deliberate handballs, often in some rather dubious situations. That's irrefutable. Carving out an exception or exceptions where the contact can be blatant, spectacular AND a result of a deliberate movement to put the arm in an unnatural position makes no sense to me. "Of course he didn't mean to handle the ball there" applies, great. But it also can apply in plenty of defensive situations where the movement isn't as clear, the extension isn't as unnatural, and the contact isn't as spectacular. In a sport where everyone knows "you can't use your hands," it seems a really, really dumb instruction.
So apparently there was no actual foul in the Makkelie DOGSO call. I’ve seen another angle and I’ve got to say that might be correct. And, if so, huge mea culpa on my initial reaction.
Pepe Reina gets sent off for DOGSO via VAR in his last ever game (3:10 mark in the video). Contrast this send off to what we saw not get sent down in the FA Cup when a goal keeper literally punches the ball outside of the penalty area to prevent an OGSO.
I like the defender in the wall on the free kick that ensues. Not that I see it much, but do we actually enforce that? "I'm not in the wall! See, I'm hopping back and forth! I'm not on your side of the car!"