For a couple of years accidental handball that led to a team-mate scoring used to see a goal ruled out. But there were constant complaints,<\/p>\n
Take the stoppage-time equaliser<\/a> for West Ham<\/a> against Sheffield United in January 2020, ruled out through VAR because the ball struck Declan Rice’s arm in the build-up.<\/p>\n “We are fuming. All the lads are livid,” said England midfielder Rice.<\/p>\n “Anybody who has played football or been around the game knows it was a good goal,” said Hammers boss David Moyes.<\/p>\n It reached a head when a Fulham<\/a> goal for Josh Maja was controversially disallowed<\/a> for an accidental handball by Mario Lemina directly before scoring.<\/p>\n So the law was changed in 2021. Now it only applies to the goal scorer.<\/p>\n And that allows Salisbury to come to a different decision about Mbeumo.<\/p>\n A handball in the build-up must be deliberate – or the arm be in an unnatural position.<\/p>\n So, if Mbeumo’s shot had gone in, the goal would have to be disallowed. Because it was blocked, it can be allowed to stand and becomes a subjective judgement of the handball offence.<\/p>\n “It is a decision that will split people, I can see both sides of the argument, but I think we have had so many talks this side of the border and north of the border recently, that we need to go back to deliberate handball,” said Cann.<\/p>\n “If it is unequivocally a handball then we disallow. If the handball is accidental or if the arm is in an unnatural position and we have all these clauses in the law then it gets a bit complicated so I would advocate for a return to just deliberate handball.”<\/p>\n There was a perfect example of this from December in a game between Brighton<\/a> and West Ham<\/a>.<\/p>\n The ball deflected off the body of Georginio Rutter before contact with the arm. The Brighton<\/a> player then saw a shot saved by Alphonse Areola. The loose ball ran to Jan Paul van Hecke, who passed to Rutter to score Brighton<\/a>‘s stoppage time equaliser.<\/p>\n Because Rutter did not score immediately after the ball had touched his arm, the goal was legal.<\/p>\n