This summer’s FIFA World Cup will incorporate five-second countdowns for throw-ins and goal kicks as football’s governing body seeks to implement various measures aimed at quickening the pace of the game.
The success of the eight-second rule introduced this season, which mandates that goalkeepers must release the ball or risk conceding a corner, has motivated the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to address other strategies that can slow down match tempo.
During its annual general meeting in Wales on Saturday, the IFAB is expected to endorse a series of law modifications, including empowering referees to initiate a five-second countdown when they believe players are unduly delaying throw-ins or goal kicks.
A referee would likely use their whistle and a hand signal to commence the countdown in situations where a deliberate delay is observed. If a player fails to execute a throw-in within five seconds, the throw-in will be overturned, and a corner will be awarded if a goal kick is deliberately delayed.
These amendments will officially be adopted into the laws of the game from July 1 but may be implemented earlier in competitions like the World Cup, which starts shortly before that date.
The IFAB is also contemplating a 10-second limit for substitutions, where teams that exceed this timeframe would be disallowed from bringing on the substitute and would be short one player for a minimum of one minute.
Additionally, a universal one-minute limit is expected to be imposed for all competitions for players leaving the field due to injuries that halt play.
Competitions have experimented with varying restrictions, from 30 seconds in the Premier League to an initial three minutes in the MLS, but the IFAB aims to establish a consistent approach.
The goal of these proposed measures is to enhance the game’s flow while minimizing stoppage time, which poses challenges for player welfare, fans, and broadcasters alike.
Injuries to goalkeepers will remain excluded from these changes; however, future trials may require that an outfield player leave the pitch when a goalkeeper’s injury necessitates a stoppage.
There are concerns that some teams may exploit the rules regarding goalkeepers to disrupt game flow, strategize, and reorganize.
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This World Cup will also be the first tournament to benefit from new VAR modifications likely to be finalized on Saturday.
One change will allow competitions to utilize VAR for checking corner decisions, where quick rectifications can be made without delaying the match restart. Officials are keen to avoid interruptions, so if a corner is taken quickly and a VAR check is still in progress, play will continue and cannot be reverted.
Additionally, the protocol will be expanded to allow VAR officials to review red cards issued after a second yellow card and advise referees to revisit decisions where that second caution was clearly incorrect. It is also proposed that VAR be allowed to intercede if a red or yellow card is wrongly assigned to a team.
According to the Press Association, a trial of the ‘daylight’ offside rule, advocated by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, will not proceed in the Canadian Premier League as previously contemplated during the IFAB’s annual business meeting in London last month.
The IFAB will continue discussions on the limited trials of the ‘daylight’ rule and may consider testing an adjustment where the ‘daylight’ offside determination depends on the attacker’s torso being beyond the second-last defender.