What the hell has happened to hand ball?

Once again, someone has decided to clarify the old "intentional/accidental" hand ball conundrum by taking the referee's judgement completely out of the decision. Based on what I've seen this weekend, if a ball touches anything from the shoulder to the finger tips and the arm is even inches away from the body, it's hand ball -- as long as this happens in the penalty area.

On Saturday, Man U got their first victory thanks to this. Today it changed a Tottenham win to a draw. Both of these happened VERY late in the game, and each of them would have been rejected as unintentional and/or accidental. In the post Spuds match talk around that followed, the talk was about Roy Hodgson's response to Saturday's incident that cost his side a point. They agreed, but were divided over whether anything could be done to change the rule interpretation once the season started.

And, then, there was the post-match interview today with Newcastle's manager. When asked about the late penalty, he said that he thought it was a bad call. He said it benefitted them today, but it was sure to cost them in future matches. He then said that all the Premier League managers/coaches should complain to the FA and get the rule changed AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. After that interview, the commentators were no longer divided.

Here's the thing, it is impossible to jump, stop abruptly, or pivot without using your arms. If you try any of those at any speed while keeping your arms "strapped to your side," you're likely to fall over. One of the commentators said that if the rule continues, sides will likely not try to score in a crowded penalty area, choosing instead to fire the ball at an opponent and hoping it hit his arm. Only an idiot who never played the game could come up with such an iron-clad stupid rule.

And, speaking of the FA ... . The spirit and intent of this rule might have been read out to refs in lower divisions, but here's the thing: without VAR neither of these penalties would have been given. And, since VAR is only in the Premier League, we now have two completely different rules just within English football.

Mega sigh