Who can forget the bizarre hand ball in the Matildas game against Equatorial Guinea, when the defender caught the ball as it rebounded off the post, walked two paces and then calmly dropped the ball for the ‘keeper to pick up and play on?
Millions of fans were mystified that no penalty was awarded and the player concerned was not booked, but “Not The Footy Show” believes that they have found the reason why.
Just last week Sheffield FC acknowledged as the oldest club auctioned at Southeby’s the first rules of Association Football written in 1858.
In those rules it states ‘handball is allowed so long as you don’t hang onto the ball, and you can catch it if it hasn’t touched the ground.’
The rules were sold for GBP881, 250 to an undisclosed buyer, but maybe it was FIFA, or the Hungarian Football Association from where the referee hailed. It doesn’t really matter but it surely explains this incident, which baffled many.
