MARGAO
Goa Football Association (GFA) will enforce the new 2021-2022 amendments to the Laws of the Game as approved by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) from this season. The rule that will come into immediate effect in the new season is concerning the use of arm that “not every touch of a player’s hand/arm with the ball is an offence.”
There is new language around how a player makes their body “unnaturally bigger” in a handball situation. The new language is “a player is considered to have made their body unnaturally bigger because the position of their hand/arm is not a consequence of, or justifiable by, the player’s body movement for that specific situation. By having their hand / arm in such a position, the player takes a risk of their hand/arm being hit by the ball and being penalised.”
The other clarification is the definition for handball whereby the arm ends at the bottom of the armpit, must be used when judging whether a player is in an offside position. The offence of using a “trick” to circumvent the law against the goalkeeper handling the ball from a deliberate kick from a team-mate will apply at goal kicks with the instigator being cautioned.
The GFA stated that several workshops and seminars have been conducted for referees, assistant referees, match assessors, match commissioners under the Referees and Assistant Referees Committee to familiarise them with the rule changes.
