Quote: davey41 "Where does it state any of that? Nothing about deliberate or accidental in the law?
That’s like saying when an attacking player throws a pass and it hits the hand of the defender it should be play on if the defender falls on the ball. But we all know it is given as a knock on.
Same rules apply surely?'"
The difference is on the one hand the defender is actively facing the ball either making a tackle or trying to stop ball movement whilst in this case the player was accidentally and unknowingly hit on the head. A pass is a deliberate act. A header is interpreted as a deliberate act. A header is defined as a shot or pass made with the head. In no way could the incident be described as a pass.