What football lawmakers say about Celtic penalty amid Hearts title impact as clear guidance outlined

Celtic’s penalty award against Motherwell has come with huge title race ramifications for Hearts - but what do football lawmakers IFAB say about such scenarios?

John Beaton, following a VAR review as recommended by Andrew Dallas, provided an opportunity for Kelechi Iheanacho to score from 12 yards and see Celtic defeat the Steelmen 3-2 at Fir Park. It came following a Sam Nicholson challenge where he was judged to have handled the ball up against Auston Trusty and mass debate has been sparked across the footballing world.

Hearts won 3-0 against Falkirk, and a draw for the defending Premiership champions meant that when the pair faced off in the final game of the season at Parkhead this Saturday, Celtic would had to have won by three goals. Now any margin of victory will do and Hearts boss McInnes has labelled the award ‘disgusting.’ So what do football’s lawmakers say about these types of debatable incidents? Below are what the IFAB rules set out as handball and VAR as per their definitions.

What is handball as per IFAB laws?

“Handball is the illegal contact/touch of the ball with the hand(s) and/or arm(s). However, it is not automatically a handball offence every time the ball touches a player’s hand/arm. Only contact between the ball and the hand or the arm below the bottom of the armpit is considered when judging possible handball offences.”

What is a handball offence?

“A handball offence is committed when a player (except the goalkeeper in their own penalty area):

• “deliberately touches the ball with their hand/arm
• “touches the ball with their hand/arm when it is in a position that makes their body unnaturally bigger and that position is not the result of their body moving fairly as part of play
• “scores a goal against the other team with their hand/arm or scores immediately after the ball has touched their hand/arm (even if the touch was accidental).”

What is not a handball offence ?

“A handball offence is not committed when a player:

• “heads, kicks or plays the ball with another part of their body and it then hits their own hand/arm (unless the ball goes directly into the opponents’ goal or the player scores immediately afterwards)
• “falls and the ball hits their supporting arm, which is between their body and the ground (unless the ball goes directly into the opponents’ goal or the player scores immediately afterwards, in which case a direct free kick is awarded to the other team)
• “is hit on the hand/arm by the ball which has been played by a team-mate (unless the ball goes directly into the opponents’ goal or the player scores immediately afterwards, in which case a direct free kick is awarded to the other team)

“A handball is punished with a direct free kick (or a penalty kick if the handball offence occurs in the player’s own penalty area).”

What happens if a player heads/kicks the ball and it then hits their own arm/head?

“This is not a handball (unless the ball goes directly into the opponents’ goal or the player scores immediately afterwards, in which case a direct free kick is awarded to the other team).”

A player prevents the ball from going into their own goal with their hand/arm but does not deliberately handle the ball and does not make their body unnaturally bigger?

“This is not handball.”

What are VAR’s principles?

“The use of VARs in football matches is based on a number of principles, all of which must apply in every match using VARs.

1. “A video assistant referee (VAR) is a match official, with independent access to match footage, who may assist the referee only in the event of a ‘clear and obvious error’ or ‘serious missed incident’ in relation to:

a. “Goal/no goal

b. “Penalty/no penalty

c. “Direct red card (not second yellow card/caution)

d. “Mistaken identity (when the referee cautions or sends off the wrong player of the offending team)

2. “The referee must always make a decision, i.e. the referee is not permitted to give ‘no decision’ and then use the VAR to make the decision; a decision to allow play to continue after an alleged offence can be reviewed.

3. “The original decision given by the referee will not be changed unless the video review clearly shows that the decision was a ‘clear and obvious error’.

4. “Only the referee can initiate a ‘review’; the VAR (and other match officials) can only recommend a ‘review’ to the referee.

5. “The final decision is always taken by the referee, either based on information from the VAR or after the referee has undertaken an ‘on-field review’ (OFR).

6. “There is no time limit for the review process as accuracy is more important than speed.

7. “The players and team officials must not surround the referee or attempt to influence if a decision is reviewed, the review process or the final decision.

8. “The referee must remain ‘visible’ during the review process to ensure transparency.

9. “If play continues after an incident which is then reviewed, any disciplinary action taken/required during the post-incident period is not cancelled, even if the original decision is changed (except a caution/sending-off for stopping or interfering with a promising attack or DOGSO).

10. “If play has stopped and been restarted, the referee may not undertake a ‘review’ except for a case of mistaken identity or for a potential sending-off offence relating to violent conduct, spitting, biting or extremely offensive, insulting and/or abusive action(s).

11. “The period of play before and after an incident that can be reviewed is determined by the Laws of the Game and VAR protocol.

12. “As the VAR will automatically ‘check’ every situation/decision, there is no need for coaches or players to request a ‘review’.”