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Football (Soccer) vocabulary · Rules, Fouls & Match Time

Handball

Meaning in football (soccer), with examples

/ˈhændbɔːl/nounCore term

In football (soccer), handball means: An offence in which a player, other than the goalkeeper in their own penalty area, touches the ball with the hand or arm in a way the rules do not allow.

In Turkish: elle oynama, el

How it is used

Players and fans shout "Handball!" and the referee may give a free kick or a penalty for handball. Not every touch on the arm is an offence: referees judge whether it was deliberate or whether the arm made the body unnaturally bigger.

Example sentences

  1. VAR checked for a possible handball, but the goal stood.

  2. That's handball, ref! His arm was way out!

Common collocations

  • handball decision
  • penalty for handball
  • deliberate handball
  • handball rule
  • appeal for handball
  • penaltyA shot at goal from the penalty spot, 11 metres (12 yards) from the goal line, given when a defender commits a direct free-kick offence inside their own penalty area.
  • foulAn unfair or illegal action against an opponent, such as tripping, pushing or holding, for which the referee gives a free kick or a penalty.
  • VARVideo assistant referee: officials who watch replays and advise the referee about clear and obvious errors in key, match-changing situations.
  • penalty areaThe large marked box in front of each goal, 16.5 metres (18 yards) deep, where a defender's direct free-kick offence leads to a penalty and the goalkeeper may handle the ball.

More terms: Rules, Fouls & Match Time

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