FIFA will introduce five-second countdowns for goal kicks (Image: Getty Images)
Five-second countdowns for throw-ins and goal-kicks are poised to make their debut at this summer’s World Cup, as football’s governing bodies gear up to introduce a series of measures aimed at accelerating the pace of play. The triumph of the eight-second rule this season – which compels goalkeepers to release the ball or face the penalty of conceding a corner – has spurred the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to address other tactics used to disrupt the flow of a match.
IFAB is expected to greenlight a number of rule amendments at its annual general meeting in Wales on Saturday. These will include empowering referees to initiate a five-second countdown when they believe players are deliberately wasting time at a throw-in or placed goal kick. It is anticipated that a referee would blow their whistle, signal to the players, and begin a five-second countdown using their hand when they suspect a deliberate attempt to stall the restart. Exceeding five seconds at a throw-in would result in possession being reversed, whilst a deliberately delayed goal kick would see a corner awarded instead.
Any changes ratified on Saturday would formally enter the laws of the game from July 1, though they could be adopted earlier by competitions such as the World Cup, which kicks off just prior to that date.
IFAB is additionally weighing up a 10-second limit on substitutions. Any side that surpasses this threshold would be denied the substitution, leaving them a player short for a minimum of one minute.
The IFAB is also anticipated to introduce a game-wide limit of one minute across all competitions for players to remain off the pitch when their injury has led to a stoppage in play.
Various competitions have trialled different time limits, ranging from 30 seconds in the Premier League to an initial three minutes in Major League Soccer, but the IFAB is poised to implement a standardised approach.
The objective behind all the measures due to be adopted is to preserve the flow of the game whilst also helping to reduce the additional time required for stoppages, which poses challenges from a player welfare standpoint, for supporters and broadcasters alike.
FIFA will clamp down on teams taking a long time at throw-ins (Image: Getty Images)
Injuries to goalkeepers are expected to remain exempt from these changes, though it is understood the IFAB may propose future trials whereby an outfield player must leave the pitch when an injury to a goalkeeper forces play to halt.
There are worries that in certain instances teams are exploiting the rules surrounding goalkeepers to disrupt play, discuss tactics and generally regroup. There has been a lot of conversation about the importance of set-pieces in the Premier League this season, with Arsenal one team who have very effectively weaponised corner-kicks and throw-ins.
The World Cup is also poised to become the first competition able to benefit from several VAR changes likely to be approved on Saturday.
One will give competitions the option to utilise VAR to review corner awards, where these can be swiftly corrected without delaying the restart. Lawmakers are so determined to avoid delays that if a corner is taken quickly and a check remains incomplete, play must continue and cannot be brought back.
The protocol will be expanded to permit VARs to examine red cards issued following a second yellow card, and recommend referees conduct a review where that second booking is evidently erroneous. It is additionally proposed that VAR be authorised to step in where a red or yellow card is shown to the incorrect team.
The Press Association understands a trial of the ‘daylight’ offside rule modification, championed by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, will not now proceed in the Canadian Premier League, as had been indicated at last month’s IFAB annual business meeting in London.
The IFAB will consider the current trials of ‘daylight’ – which are understood to be restricted in scope – and whether to additionally trial an adaptation of ‘daylight’ offside determined by whether an attacker’s torso is beyond the second-last defender.