GOALKEEPERS TO CONCEDE CORNERS FOR TIME-WASTING
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).
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