BELFAST, Ireland (AP) — Soccer’s rule makers are taking another crack at reducing timewasting by goalkeepers who hold the ball for too long.
The International Football Association Board approved a rule change Saturday whereby the opposing team will be awarded a corner kick if a goalkeeper holds the ball for more than eight seconds. The new rule will first be used at the Club World Cup in June and then in domestic and international competitions from next season.
It replaces the current and mostly unenforced rule that states a referee should give an indirect free kick to the other side if a goalkeeper holds the ball for more than six seconds.
Referees will be instructed to use a five-second hand countdown to warn goalkeepers time is running out to put the ball back in play.
The IFAB said that the eight-second rule saw positive results when it was used in trials in England’s Premier League 2 for youth teams and other minor competitions in Italy and Malta.
“You can see it has a significant impact on goalkeeper behavior,” Patrick Nelson, IFAB director and head of the Irish Football Association, said at a news conference. “The results of (the trials) have been very, very positive.”
Nelson said failure to enforce the six-second rule had “been a bane of many people’s lives for quite some time”.
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The Associated Press
