The introduction of penalty goals, that would see a goal automatically awarded when a player uses their arm to stop the ball on the goal line, is to be considered by football's lawmakers.
David Elleray, the technical director of the International FA Board (IFAB), has revealed that it is looking at how handballs are interpreted in general.
This will include clearly defining what is a natural and unnatural position of the arm for handball in the box leading to a penalty kick. At present the law for handball only considers movement of the hand towards the ball and the distance between the opponent and the ball.
A change to the law would mean a penalty goal would be awarded if a player is penalised for handball on the goalline, thus preventing a certain goal. A goal would be awarded rather than a penalty kick, and that would remove the possibility that a team could miss the penalty, and effectively be robbed of a goal.
"One of the main things we are going to look at next is handballs," Elleray, a former Premier League and FIFA-listed referee, told the Times.
The most famous example came in the 2010 World Cup quarterfinals in South Africa, when Uruguay's Luis Suarez punched the ball off the goal-line just before the end of extra time but Ghana's Asamoah Gyan missed the spot-kick. Though Suarez was sent off, Uruguay went on to win 4-2 in a penalty shootout to reach the semifinals.
Under the proposed rule changes, Ghana would have been awarded a goal rather than a penalty.
Variations of a penalty goal are used in other sports, such as basketball and rugby, but have never been introduced in football.
IFAB agreed earlier this year to revise the laws of the game, including removing the mandatory red card for denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and bringing in cautions for goalkeepers who move off their line at a penalty.