Gary Lineker has claimed that the handball rules are set to change in the near future after Manchester United were controversially awarded a penalty in their FA Cup final against Manchester City.
Referee Paul Tierney pointed to the spot after Jack Grealish was adjudged to have handled Aaron Wan Bissaka's cross, with United midfielder Bruno Fernandes eventually converting the spot kick. At half-time of the match, Lineker revealed that he had heard the handball laws will be simplified to a more common sense approach.
Speaking during the BBC's coverage of the match, the Tottenham Hotspur legend said: "I have it on very reliable information that the law will be simplified, the law on handball. They’re gonna (sic) have to almost go back to how it was - common sense.
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"I find it ridiculous when they say the hand is not in a natural position because unless it’s not attached to your body then it has to be fairly natural." Ahead of the 2021/22 campaign, the handball laws were changed on interpreting what is a deliberate act of handball.
"An arm extended away from the body makes that body bigger, in an unnatural position," general manager of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) Mike Riley said at the time. "If the ball strikes that arm, particularly if it is blocking a shot on goal, there is a greater likelihood we will penalise that."
The language surrounding handball states: "A player is considered to have made their body unnaturally bigger when 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."
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