[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by TGH-Adfabre

He is not purposely blocking that ball. Allowing that sets the precedent that leaving your arms up or flailing your arm(s) above your head while jumping is acceptable. That means there will be arms in the air all of the time. That is not allowed, he has no acceptable justification for having his arm in that position. It is probably most similar to High Sticking, it does not matter what you intended, the stick is the responsibility of the player and must be correctly controlled. The arms of a soccer player must be correctly controlled and above the head while marking a defender on a header is not correctly controlled.

I understand the reasoning. They don't want the ref to have to judge intention. That's what's behind the high sticking & the NFL's drug policy. I just think it's a heavy price to pay. As I said, I'll yield to those who watch the sport religiously. From my very causal observer standpoint, it's a cheap way to score a goal. Deliberate fouls proceeding a goal I can take. An unlucky/fortuitous bounce......? I would equate it to a gust of wind knocking a pitcher off balance during his delivery and he instinctively holds onto the ball w/a man on 3rd. Yeah, it's a balk. Yeah, rule says the runner scores. But it's a cheap way to score a run. I want to see games won. Not solved by a roll of the dice.