When is handball an offence?

Q: When is handball an offence?

Under Law 12.1 (2026/27), the arm starts at the bottom of the armpit, and not every touch of the hand or arm is an offence. It is a handball offence if a player: deliberately touches the ball with the hand or arm, for example by moving it towards the ball touches the ball with a hand or arm that has made the body unnaturally bigger, meaning its position is not explained or justified by the player's body movement in that situation scores in the opponents' goal directly from the hand or arm, or immediately after the ball touched it, even accidentally (this includes the goalkeeper) A handball offence is a direct free kick, or a penalty if committed by a defender inside their own penalty area. A goalkeeper may handle in their own penalty area, but outside it has the same restrictions as any other player. Link to offside: a player in an offside position who receives the ball from an opponent's deliberate handball is not penalised for offside (Law 11).

Question

Accepted Answer

Under Law 12.1 (2026/27), the arm starts at the bottom of the armpit, and not every touch of the hand or arm is an offence. It is a handball offence if a player:

deliberately touches the ball with the hand or arm, for example by moving it towards the ball
touches the ball with a hand or arm that has made the body unnaturally bigger, meaning its position is not explained or justified by the player's body movement in that situation
scores in the opponents' goal directly from the hand or arm, or immediately after the ball touched it, even accidentally (this includes the goalkeeper)

A handball offence is a direct free kick, or a penalty if committed by a defender inside their own penalty area. A goalkeeper may handle in their own penalty area, but outside it has the same restrictions as any other player.

Link to offside: a player in an offside position who receives the ball from an opponent's deliberate handball is not penalised for offside (Law 11).