Wolves were denied an opening goal in their Premier League clash against Leicester City as VAR ruled out Leander Dendoncker's second half effort.

It was judged that Wily Boly had handled the ball in the build-up leaving Wolves players and fans furious.

Here are the new rules on handball for the 2019/20 season.

Firstly, if a player scores with the use of a hand, both accidental and intentional, it will be disallowed.


The biggest change related to intent. Handballs no longer needs to be intentional for it to be given.

It’s all about the positioning of the arm or hand.

If the arm or hand makes the body ‘unnaturally bigger’, it is handball.

The rules say that an arm or hand above the shoulder can ‘rarely be a natural position’.Having the arm or hand in that position is considered a risk on the part of the player.

Of course, if the arm or hand is away from the body, it will be considered to be making the body ‘unnaturally bigger’ and a handball will be given.

The only exception is when a player puts their hand on the floor to support themselves when making a sliding challenge or falling. If the ball hits an arm or hand in that situation, it won’t be given as handball.


Do deflections differ?

Yes.Players will be ‘given extra leeway’ when the ball deflects off an arm or hand.

If the ball deflects off an opponent or teammate and it’s deemed impossible for the player to move their arm or hand in time, a handball won’t be given.

That’s also the case if the ball comes quickly from a body part of their own.

For example, should they accidentally mis-head the ball onto their own arm, handball won’t be given.

Why have the rules changed?

The rules have needed clarifying for some time, and it’s no surprise to see IFAB polishing them in the latest ‘improvements’ to the game’s laws.

For years we heard pundits making comments like ‘unnatural positioning’ when that language wasn’t even in the rules.

We also saw many disagreements about what was and wasn’t intentional - it was almost impossible for officials to decipher, often giving handball whether it was truly intentional or not.

So that language has been thrown out, with IFAB making things clearer for officials ahead of the new season.