According to the last rule draft, touching the ball with the arms (handling) results in a free-kick. Removing the ‘deliberately’ part might lead to very frequent free-kicks, in particular when:
- Robots fall on the ball
- Fallen robots are on the trajectory of the ball
- Robots walk with their hands too close to the ground (KidSize only)
In order to make sure games are smooth, we’re proposing that handling the ball is penalized by a removal penalty rather than a direct free-kick.
This would probably mean reducing the impact of ball handling on robots and could be a too soft penalty for robots who actively use their arms to reduce the risk of being scored at. However, when intentional or recurrent, this practice would be considered as unsportive behavior which has a higher impact than ball handling.
What are your thoughts on this topic?