There are sighs and shouts. A top player has just taken four, five, or sometimes even six steps without the referee calling a traveling violation. The European Championship is about to begin – but are we heading for a championship defined by traveling violations? GoHandball has spoken with elite referee Alice Watson, who explains why things look the way they do, how difficult the rule is to apply, and what directives come from the top.
“The traveling rule is the hardest rule to apply,” Watson tells GoHandball.
Some of the world’s best players – especially on the men’s side – seem to have almost systematized taking four, five, or sometimes six steps before shooting or passing the ball to a teammate in a clear position. This has led to frustration among opponents, coaches, and spectators alike.
But why does it look like this? Is the feeling correct that players are taking too many steps more often than before? Does handball risk losing credibility when traveling violations are not called as frequently as they should be? These questions – and several others – GoHandball asked Alice Watson, elite referee and referee expert for Swedish Viaplay.
But, what is a “zero step”?
First it is important to clarify what the so-called “zero step” actually means. What is new this season is not the zero step itself but the fact that players are now allowed to zero themselves. A zero step can be taken on one foot and was previously only permitted when receiving a pass. It now also applies after a player’s own dribble, a change that is expected to be one of the most challenging interpretations for referees during the championship.
Or, as stated on the Swedish Handball Federation’s website:
“Placing your foot on the floor for the first time after receiving the ball during a jump is, according to Rule 7:3c, not considered a step (zero step). ‘Receiving the ball’ refers to receiving a pass. Dribbling and catching the ball in the air during a jump is not considered ‘receiving the ball’ under the rule. Placing your foot on the floor after a dribble has begun is therefore, without exception, considered a step.”
The amount of violations is increasing
Alice Watson shares the general perception that traveling violations in top-level handball have become more common compared to five, ten, or fifteen years ago.
“First of all, it’s the hardest rule to apply when I referee myself. Everything happens very fast, and sometimes I also feel that the general perception of what constitutes traveling is incorrect. Often people shout ‘traveling’ in every situation that looks odd, even when it’s not a violation. So I think the general public, coaches, and spectators easily fool themselves into thinking it’s traveling even when it isn’t,” Watson says.
“That said, I agree that at the highest level it’s now more accepted for players to play handball on four or five steps. But what has mainly become more common is the zero step, which means that players can take four steps even though we only count three. I think that misleads a lot of people.”
Why do you think it has become more common for players to take four or five steps without being penalized?
“Above all, because everything has become much faster. All trends in rule directives are aimed at keeping handball a big and attractive spectator sport. It should be fun to watch, and then calling traveling violations tends to be pushed into the background. We referees may have been given other guidelines to focus more on – such as protecting player safety and eliminating blows to the face, pushes in the air, and similar situations.”
“So even if there is a plan to focus on traveling violations during championships, it’s easy to lose that focus. Players train to take four steps, and if they aren’t penalized for it, they won’t change their behavior.”
Some of the best do it on a regular basis
Without naming names, anyone who follows handball can see that some of the world’s best players often take too many steps – yet they are rarely punished for it. Instead, they are often rewarded by scoring goals or creating goal-scoring opportunities.
“Traveling violations are extremely difficult to detect. Some players known for taking many steps are very rhythmic in their movements; they train it so that it looks correct. And we referees don’t always have time to count the steps, which means we go by rhythm or by how ‘wrong’ something looks.”
“When it comes to the zero step, everything depends on whether you have control of the ball before you jump or while you’re in the air. Watching handball on TV, I can spot traveling violations, but on the court it’s easier to miss them because it’s all about angles. I can’t stress enough how difficult it is to detect traveling.”
Is there a fear of “ruining the game” by calling traveling violations?
“Absolutely. A lot today is about balance, and you can keep many people satisfied by calling the same things in the same situations – whether it’s traveling or something else in the gray area. If there has been a 50–50 situation where you didn’t blow the whistle, it’s important not to blow it the next time either.”
Does handball risk losing credibility when clear rule violations become normalized?
“I really hope not. When I referee myself, I experience it as a problem, but when I watch handball, it doesn’t bother me that much. Of course, you could look at expanding video review or testing a three-referee system to get more eyes on situations – but then there’s a risk the sport becomes less attractive. It’s a kind of value judgment that has to be made.”
“Video review becomes complex, because right now we can only review decisive technical errors and situations in the last 30 seconds of a match. If we were able to review situations throughout an entire match, we wouldn’t have much of a sport left. What needs to happen is that referees start calling traveling violations – that we begin to focus on it.”
What are the directives from above to referees regarding traveling?
“It’s discussed a lot, both before the season and ahead of championships. We also do video analyses where we look at situations in which players have taken too many steps. A lot of it is about tactically learning that previously, if a player dribbled the ball and used a reversed footwork pattern, they had to finish off the ‘wrong’ foot for it to be correct. Now, with the zero step, players have other possibilities without committing an offense. That’s something we referees need to train.”
“So even though the directives are clearer, I think referees need time to adapt. But those in charge want us to call traveling more often – that’s clear.”
How do you think it will look during the European Championship?
“Since the zero-step rule is new, I think we’ll especially see early in the tournament – and from referee pairs who are newer to major championships – that they will want to call traveling violations. As the tournament goes on and the matches become more intense, the focus on other aspects, such as player safety, will also increase. But I’m hopeful – above all, goals scored after five or six steps must disappear,” Alice Watson concludes.