Man Utd to become first English team to play under new laws in Europa League tie against LASK
MANCHESTER United will become the first English team to play under football’s new laws tomorrow night. Uefa announced that it would implement the 2020/21 Laws of the Game for the resumption of its two European competitions. Europe’s governing body could have stuck with last season’s laws, even though the new rulebook came into effect from […]
MANCHESTER United will become the first English team to play under football’s new laws tomorrow night.
Uefa announced that it would implement the 2020/21 Laws of the Game for the resumption of its two European competitions.
Europe’s governing body could have stuck with last season’s laws, even though the new rulebook came into effect from June 1.
Instead, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side will play LASK at Old Trafford under DIFFERENT laws from the ones in operation in their 5-0 first leg win in Austria back in March.
The key changes include the adoption of the new “T-shirt” law for handball offences, which stipulates that the shoulder is NOT part of the arm.
Goals will only be wiped out if a handling offence by an attacking player leads directly to a goal being scored.
It means that, under the new laws, Manchester City’s disallowed “winner” against Spurs at the start of this season would still not count, as the ball deflected off Aymeric Laporte’s arm straight to scorer Gabriel Jesus.
But the controversially disallowed Robert Snodgrass goal for West Ham at Sheffield United, chalked off when the ball rebounded onto Declan Rice’s arm some seconds before the strike, would now be deemed a legitimate goal.
TOE THE LINE
Uefa has also been forced to come into line with Fifa and use VAR to determine offences by goalkeepers at penalty kicks.
Euro chiefs – like Prem refs’ bosses – agreed that encroachment off the line by keepers would be decided purely by on-field officials, meaning that only huge forward steps off the line before the kick would be spotted.
But Fifa was unhappy that the laws were not being followed and now competitions that have VAR are mandated to apply it vigorously.
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If a keeper moves off the line early, and makes a save, the shot will be retaken and the offending player cautioned.
Repeating the offence will bring a booking, with a second repeat bringing a second yellow card and expulsion.
However, if the shot misses the target, there will not be a retake – unless the keeper is ruled to have advanced so far that the penalty taker could not possibly get the ball past him by shooting on-target.
