Football’s lawmakers are exploring bold new measures to combat time-wasting, including a new rule where referees will award a corner to the oppositon if a goalkeeper holds on to the ball for too long.
New 8-Second Goalkeeper Rule On Trial
A proposed rule could see goalkeepers penalised with a corner kick to the opposition if they hold onto the ball for more than eight seconds.
This concept, already tested in the Premier League Under-21 competition and Malta, aims to discourage time-wasting and speed up the game.
Under the trial, referees signal a five-second countdown if a goalkeeper is nearing the eight-second limit. If the ball isn’t released in time, a corner is awarded.
🚨🚨| BREAKING: Referees will award a corner to the opposition if a goalkeeper holds on to the ball for too long, under a new system being considered by football’s lawmakers.
[@martynziegler] pic.twitter.com/7Fy53puvQs— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) December 5, 2024
Unlike the current rule, where referees can issue an indirect free kick, this system eliminates the need for defensive setups, reducing delays and increasing the penalty’s deterrent effect.
Patrick Nelson, the Irish FA’s chief executive and an International Football Association Board (IFAB) board member, highlighted the promising results.
“The data that’s coming out of it so far is very, very interesting, in that the two trials so far have been that if the goalkeeper is holding on to the ball too long, the referee will award a corner,” he said.
“The instances of corners being awarded are almost non-existent, which would indicate to us, certainly looking at the data, that the deterrent is exactly what we would want it to be at this point, and it’s speeding up the goalkeepers letting go of the ball and bringing it back into play.”
Nelson pointed out that goalkeepers in Malta held the ball 796 times during the trial without exceeding the limit once. The fear of conceding a corner or throw-in appears to effectively modify goalkeeper behaviour.
Italy’s Under-20 league will be the next testing ground. Unlike the Malta trial, Italy will use a throw-in instead of a corner as the penalty, though this is perceived as a less effective deterrent.
“The wrath of any coach for any goalkeeper who’s given away a corner or a throw-in that leads to a goal is always certainly going to mean the goalkeeper is not going to do that twice,” Nelson added.
If deemed successful, the rule could be adopted globally.
‘Daylight’ Offside Rule Revisited
Ifab are also revisiting the offside rule, focusing on refining the use of technology in marginal decisions.
A trial spearheaded by Arsène Wenger, FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development, advocates a “daylight” rule, requiring clear separation between attacker and defender to be deemed offside.
David Elleray, Ifab’s technical director, acknowledged the challenge of balancing fairness and technology.
“We’re all very sympathetic to the fact that technology has removed the benefit of the doubt that used to exist,” Elleray said.
“We all agree that it would be nice if goals weren’t necessarily chalked off for a toenail. We’re looking at that, and this trial is part of a broader look at whether there is anything we can do.
Elleray emphasised that this remains an “early debate,” with no immediate changes confirmed.
