No more time wasting goal keepers

[D8958]

IFAB is getting serious.

"The International Football Association Board (The IFAB) has approved a number of changes to the Laws of the Game for 2025/26. After trials have shown a major positive impact where goalkeepers have been holding onto the ball for too long, The IFAB has unanimously decided to amend Law 12.2 (Indirect free kick). The amendment means that if a goalkeeper holds the ball for longer than eight seconds (with the referee using a visual five-second countdown), the referee will award a corner kick to the opposing team (rather than the current indirect free kick for more than six seconds)."

Rolling it out in July.

The IFAB tackles time-wasting by goalkeepers | IFAB

www.theifab.com

 

[Grace T.]

IFAB is getting serious.

"The International Football Association Board (The IFAB) has approved a number of changes to the Laws of the Game for 2025/26. After trials have shown a major positive impact where goalkeepers have been holding onto the ball for too long, The IFAB has unanimously decided to amend Law 12.2 (Indirect free kick). The amendment means that if a goalkeeper holds the ball for longer than eight seconds (with the referee using a visual five-second countdown), the referee will award a corner kick to the opposing team (rather than the current indirect free kick for more than six seconds)."

Rolling it out in July.

The IFAB tackles time-wasting by goalkeepers | IFAB

www.theifab.com

I like the 5 second countdown. It will be a bit of an issue for crs in the youth game because for most teams (except for those that are heavily possession based and don’t believe in punting which, let’s face it, once allowed is almost no one) they like to run down the field to watch for the the foul on the aerial challenge and it will force them to keep a count in their head. They’ll have to stand at the circle max. It’s also going to be an issue for strikers that like to interfere with the release because the ref will actually see it and to prevent the cynical situation of preventing a punt to make it a kick in the youth game it will go straight to a card (refs are also unless instructed not to card unlikely to give a warning because this act messes them up and makes this harder for them, ticking them off)