Team Handball

Handball is played on a court forty meters long by twenty meters (40mx20m) wide, with a dividing line in the middle and a goal in the center of either end. he goals are surrounded by a near!semicircular line that is generally six meters ("m) away from the goal. here is also a dashed near!semicircular line that is nine meters (#m) away from the goal. $fter having been scored a goal against players of the team must move to the line in the very middle of the pitch. $ player must be standing with the ball under control, whereafter the referee will blow his whistle to ma%e the play go on. &ote' $ll players of the team which are restarting the play, must be behind the line on their own half, or else the restarting throw will have to be reta%en. (nly the defending goal%eeper is allowed to step inside the six meter ("m) perimeter, though any player may attempt to catch and touch the ball in the air within it. )f a player should find himself in contact inside the goal perimeter he must immediately ta%e the most direct path out of it. *hould a defender ma%e contact with an attac%er while in the goal perimeter, their team is penali+ed with a direct attempt at the goal, with only one attac%er on the seven!meter line and the defending goal%eeper involved. $ penalty throw, which must be ta%en from the seven meter line after the whistle blows, can also be given, if the defender is bloc%ing the attac%er,s way to goal standing inside the goal perimeter. he ball is smaller than a football in order for the players to be able to hold and handle it with a single hand (though contact with both hands is perfectly allowed). *ome $merican versions use a volleyball. )t is transported by bouncing it between hands and floor much as in bas%etball. $ player may only hold the ball for three seconds and may only ta%e three steps with the ball in hand. $fter ta%ing three steps the player will have to ma%e a dribble with one hand in order to continue moving forward, but if the ball is held in both hands after ma%ing a dribble and the player ma%es another dribble, a free throw will be given to the other team for .a double dribble.. here are many unofficial rule variations/ a common $merican version allows only a single step with the ball, after which the player must pass the ball to another teammate or shoot. 0ame play $ standard match duration consists of two periods of 10 minutes each during which each team may call one time!out. &ormal league games are usually allowed to end in a draw, but in %noc%out tournaments, such as the final stages of the (lympics, two extension periods of 20 minutes are played, and if they also end in a draw another two times five minutes has to be played. )f each of these ends in a tie after the extra time the winner is determined by an individual shootout from the 3!meter line, where each team is given five shots. he rules of the shootout is similar to the one of soccer, where, if a winner is not found within the first ten shots, the players return to the shooting, until one team has missed and the other scored.

he game is 4uite fast and includes body and contact as the defenders try to stop the attac%ers from approaching the goal. (nly frontal contact by the defenders is allowed/ when a defender stops an attac%er with his or her arms instead of his or her torso, the play is stopped and restarted from the spot of the infraction or on the nine meter line, with the attac%ing team in possession. 5enalties are given to players, in progressive format, if the contact between the players is particularly rough (even if it is indeed frontal). he referees may award a nine!meter free throw to the attac%ing team, or if the infraction was during a clear scoring opportunity, a seven!meter penalty shot is given. )n more extreme cases they give the defender a yellow card (warning), a 2!minute penalty, or a red card (permanent expulsion). 6or rough fouls they can also order two!minute expulsions and a red card expulsion without having to warn the player first. $lternatively, if a player insults the referee ! either by touching him with the intension to push or with verbal abuse, or if a player %ic%s or hits an opponent deliberately, the referee can expel the player forming a cross over his head with his arms, which will tell the player that he7she will have to leave the gym hall completely. 8oth a red card or an expulsion will ! if the referee does not regret his decision within twenty! four hours ! result in a 4uarantine for the player shown out. $ team can only get three warnings (yellow cards)/ after that they will only be able to be penalised with 2!minute suspensions. (ne player can only get three 2!minute suspensions/ after that he7she will be shown the red card, and cannot participate in that game anymore. $ red card from three 2!minute suspensions does not result in a 4uarantine, such as a direct red card does. $ 9oach7(fficial can also be penalised progressively. $fter a yellow card and a 2!minute suspension, the red card is shown straight out, and unli%e players, coaches cannot be shown a complete expulsion, but of course also be given a match 4uarantine. :hen shown a 2!minute suspension a coach will have to pull out one of his players for two minutes ! note' the players is not the one punished and can be substituted in again, because the main penalty is the team playing with a man less than the other. $fter having lost the ball during an attac%, the ball has to be laid down 4uic%ly or else the player not following this rule will face a 2!minute suspension. $lso gesticulatingly or verbally re;ecting to follow the referee,s order, as well as arguing with his7her decisions, will normally result in a 2!minute suspension. $lternatively, if it is done in a very provocative way, a player can be given a 2!minute suspension if he7she does not wal% straight out on the bench after been given a suspension, or if the referee considers the tempo deliberately slow. 8all movement and possession is similar to bas%etball. )f the attac%er commits an infraction, such as charging, the possession of the ball can be awarded to the defending team. 5layers may also cause the possession to be lost if they ma%e more than three steps without dribbling or after stopping their dribble. However unli%e bas%etball, the player may ta%e three steps instead of two (pivoting on one foot is considered a step) and the ball must be .patted. down instead of the more controlled bas%etball method.