What is the handball rule at Euro 2020?
Don't miss a thing by getting the day's biggest stories sent direct to your inbox Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Click here Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice  UEFA has confirmed that a new handball rule will be used at Euro 2020. Euro 2020 gets underway on Friday night as Italy host Turkey at the Stadio Olimpico. It will be the first match that will employ the new handball rule that will be used during all 51 tournament matches across the next month. The rule has been implemented to not penalise attackers if they accidentally commit a handball in the build-up to a goal. The law was established in March by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) and the chairman of their referees' committee, Roberto Rosetti claims that it will give attackers "more freedom" during the tournament. "The way the law has been rewritten is more according to the spirit of football and gives players the freedom to play football," the Italian said last week at the 135th briefing of the IFAB. The officials mentioned the unnatural position argument and clarified that: Not every touch of a players hand or arm with the ball is an offence stating that an unnatural position would be if a player made their body unnaturally bigger.  The new rule now states it is a handball if a player:  deliberately touches the ball with their hand/arm, for example moving the hand/arm towards the ball;  touches the ball with their hand/arm when it has made their body unnaturally bigger. A player is considered to have made their body unnaturally bigger when the position of their hand/arm is not a consequence of, or justifiable by, the player's body movement for that specific situation. By having their hand/arm in such a position, the player takes a risk of their hand/arm being hit by the ball and being penalised; or  scores in the opponents' goal: directly from their hand/arm, even if accidental, including by the goalkeeper; or immediately after the ball has touched their hand/arm, even if accidental. An accidental handball that leads to a teammate scoring a goal or having a goal-scoring opportunity will no longer be considered an offence. Let us know what you think of the change in the comments section.