ALEX Pearce and Jake Cooper say they won’t change the way they defend despite new handball rules this season that have seen a number of controversial refereeing decisions in the Premier League.
A player can be punished for handball if his arm is deemed to be away from his body even if he is close to the ball and there was no intention to impede.
Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson said he was “disillusioned” after a decision against Everton last month, while Jose Mourinho preferred not to comment and risk a ban after Eric Dier was penalised in injury-time after the ball hit his arm from Andy Carroll’s header and Newcastle scored a 97th-minute penalty for a 1-1 draw.
The stricter rules this season won’t affect how Pearce plays.
“No, for me and for the defenders, I would encourage them not to change the way you play,” Pearce said. “Keep defending the way you’ve been defending.
“I just think it’s ridiculous what has gone on. The penalties that have been given show the rule has to change at some point. You can’t ask defenders to defend how they’re asking them to. It’s a joke.
“You need your arms, you need to use them when you’re facing someone with an element of pace. You need to run, so you need to move your arms! I see a lot of defenders in the Premier League standing with their hands behind their back, but I certainly wouldn’t advise doing that because you’re restricting your movement.
“I think they need to change that rule as quickly as possible. In the meantime, carry on defending how you would normally defend.”
Cooper added: “You see the decisions and they’re awful, really. We spoke [at Millwall] about the Eric Dier one in the Tottenham-Newcastle game. Surely the rules can’t stay that way because football would be a crazy game.
“But I would never change the way I play. I think you get more luck out of concentrating blocking the ball than concentrating on where your arms are. That’s the way I’ll continue to defend.”
*Read long interviews with Alex Pearce and Jake Cooper in this Thursday’s Southwark News. Pearce talks about his unique clap when leading the team out for the warm-up, and says the squad would welcome more signings this week.
Cooper discusses an upcoming milestone – and jokingly wonders whether goalkeepers should be in the list of consecutive league appearances as he closes in on Tony Warner’s total.
Image: Millwall FC