It Should Be Called the Not-Disadvantaged Rule

Wednesday, April 27, 2016 - 10:00
Michelle

Senior Marketing Manager


Ahhh the good ol’ advantage rule. It’s designed to avoid unnecessary stoppages and in turn, improve the flow of the game! Here’s the official rule from our rulebook:

The Advantage Rule refers to an instance when a foul occurs and the result is that the team fouled against is not disadvantaged by the play and therefore there are no consequences and the play continues. 

Let’s break it down, shall we?

If a player is fouled and then ends up on a sweet breakaway, the Advantage Rule will allow them to play on because they now have the advantage. Another example is if Team A attempts to pass the ball to a teammate and that teammate touches the ball with their hand but the ball ends up in the possession of Team B. The Advantage Rule would apply and Team B would simply play on as they were advantaged by the foul.

However, gaining an advantage is not the only reason why the Advantage Rule might be called into play. For example, Team A attempts to pass the ball to a teammate and a player from Team B touches the ball with their hand but Team A is in no worse of an offensive position. In other words, you tried to pass a ball, the other team committed a foul, but you were not disadvantaged because your teammate still ended up with the ball (like originally intended). 

When the Advantage Rule (aka the Not-Disadvantaged Rule) is called, play on my friends! Play on…