It is there on the opening page of the IFAB booklet. Beneath the heading, 'The philosophy and spirit of the Laws', is a simple statement. 'Football must have Laws which keep the game fair, as a crucial foundation of the beautiful game is its fairness.'
So what happened? How is it that football now has laws that Jose Mourinho believes will stop people watching; that Peter Crouch says will hasten disillusioned players into retirement?
How have the lawmakers got handball so wrong? How have they moved so far from what was intended, sucking the very concept of fairness from the play?