Times Of Swaziland: GOALKEEPERS TO CONCEDE CORNERS FOR TIME-WASTING

GOALKEEPERS TO CONCEDE CORNERS FOR TIME-WASTING
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Nimrod Hlophe on 07/12/2024 07:47:00


MBABANE - A new system to clamp down on time-wasting by goalkeepers is under
consideration by football lawmakers.
In a proposed change, which has already been tested in Premier League II, the
International Football Association Board (IFAB) implemented this from the
2024/25 season kick off. Goalkeepers are not allowed to hold the ball for longer
than eight seconds and if they do, a corner is awarded to the opposition, and
the shot stopper may face caution. Currently, a goalkeeper is permitted to
control the ball with their hands, at most for six seconds.  For more than six
seconds, the offence is punishable by an indirect free kick being awarded.
According to the IFAB, however, this is ‘rarely enforced by referees’ due to
the difficulty in managing an indirect free kick or it seeming too great an
advantage. Most offenders are usually goalkeepers of the clubs the outcome of
the game could favour.
After success in current trials in Malta, Goal reports, that goalkeepers have
held the ball on 796 occasions and have never exceeded eight seconds. It is said
the rule change is said to be prompted for expansion. Now, Italy’s under-20
league sees a similar implementation but with a throw-in awarded instead of a
corner. Per The Times, if the experiment passes the test in Italy, it will be
implemented in the sport across the world. Speaking to The Times, Irish FA’s
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Patrick Nelson, said: “The data that’s coming
out of it so far is very, very interesting, in that the two trials so far have
shown that if the goalkeeper is holding on to the ball too long, the referee
will award a corner.’’
Nelson further said the instances of corners being awarded were almost
non-existent, which indicated to them, particularly when examining the data,
that the deterrent was exactly what they desired at that point. He said it was
speeding up the goalkeepers’ release of the ball and bringing it back into
play. Moreover, IFAB is also considering changing the offside rule at the
suggestion of former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger. Speaking on the developments,
IFAB Technical Director David Elleray said they are continuing to discuss them.
“We’re all very sympathetic to the fact that technology has removed the
benefit of the doubt that used to exist. We all agree that it would be nice if
goals weren’t necessarily chalked off for a toenail. We’re seeing if there
are ways in which we could deal with the challenges. This is part of an early
debate,” Elleray said.
Here is how the goalkeeper time-wasting rule will work;
*The referee will start counting the eight seconds when the goalkeeper has clear
control of the ball with the hand(s). 	*The referee will use a raised hand to
clearly show the countdown from five seconds to zero. 	*The corner kick
resulting from an offence will be taken from the side of the field of play
closest to where the goalkeeper was positioned when penalised. 	*The goalkeeper
will be warned for the first offence and cautioned with a yellow card for any
subsequent offence(s).