Graeme Souness: The game needs a helping hand in stamping out rulebook inconsistencies

While Fifa may have signalled the shape of things to come in football by trialling video replay technology at the Club World Cup in Japan, it’s the inconsistent application of some of the most basic rules in football which, in the here and now, continues to confound players, enrage supporters, and keep television pundits working overtime.

Liverpool legend and Sky Sports analyst Graeme Souness doesn’t have to think twice when asked what single change to improve the game he’d like to see introduced as a mater of urgency.

“If it’s a handball, it’s a handball,” he says. “I’d like to see this cleared up. It shouldn’t matter how far away you are: If your arm is away from your body and the ball hits you and that’s the first contact — it hasn’t come up off your knee or something — then it’s a penalty.”