Handling the ball
The provision as it is printed, and everything on Ruleside that turns on it.
It is an offence if a player:
Verdicts that turn on it 19
Walk a practice scenario to any of these and this clause is part of the answer.
- Handball: deliberate touch after deflectionhandball
- Handball: deliberatehandball
- Handball: unnatural positionhandball
- Handball: arm extended before fallhandball
- Handball: arm above shoulder in jumphandball
- Handball: arm held unnaturally while runninghandball
- Handball: arms raised in wallhandball
- Goal disallowed: scored off the scorer's own hand or armhandball
- Direct free kick to the opponentsgoal-kick-corner
- Direct free kick to the opponentsthrow-in
- No handball: arm position justifiablehandball
- No handball: arm in a natural resting positionhandball
- Likely no handball: arm out to break the fallhandball
- No handball: arms for balancehandball
- No handball: natural running motionhandball
- No handball: arms tucked in wallhandball
- No handball: arm position not chosenhandball
- No handball, and the holding is the offencehandball
- Likely no handball: the arm was holding the player uphandball
Explained in the rules library 3
The plain-language pages that build on this provision.
Applied in these incidents 5
Real decisions where this clause decided what should have happened.
Changed for 2026/27 1
What this provision replaced, and when it took effect.
Questions that ask it 16
Points in a walk where the reader is deciding this provision.
- Did the player use the arm on the ball to cushion, push, redirect or control it?handball
- Did the player have enough time to react and avoid using the arm to control the ball?handball
- Did the player deliberately touch the ball with the hand or arm?handball
- What was the player doing at the moment of contact?handball
- Was the arm already extended before the player started falling?handball
- Was the arm raised above shoulder height?handball
- Was the arm extended wide to the side, beyond what balance requires?handball
- Was the arm swinging naturally as part of the running motion?handball
- Was the arm extended away from the body, with no movement to explain why?handball
- Were the player's arms tucked in, covering the body rather than extended outward?handball
- Did this player score directly from, or immediately after, the ball touching their arm?handball
- Was the ball struck from very close range with no time to react?handball
- Was the arm's position a risk the player could have seen coming and avoided?handball
- Did the ball touch another part of the player's body first, before touching the arm?handball
- Was the arm on the ground taking the player's weight?handball
- Was the arm out beyond what holding the opponent needed?handball
The Laws of the Game are published by The IFAB and quoted here for the purpose of explaining the decisions on this site. Ruleside is not affiliated with The IFAB or FIFA. Every clause of Fouls and Misconduct that Ruleside cites.