Referees will award nook kicks starting subsequent season, as an alternative of oblique free-kicks, to punish goalkeepers who attempt to waste time by holding onto the ball for greater than eight seconds.
The Worldwide Soccer Affiliation Board (IFAB), chargeable for the legal guidelines of the game, unanimously permitted the rule change at its 139th annual common assembly in Belfast.
Regulation 12.2 presently states that goalkeepers can solely maintain the ball of their arms for six seconds throughout open play, with the opposition being awarded an oblique free-kick in the event that they exceed that allotted time. Nevertheless, the rule is never enforced, which has given netminders a simple avenue to waste time.
“The modification implies that if a goalkeeper holds the ball for longer than eight seconds (with the referee utilizing a visible five-second countdown), the referee will award a nook kick to the opposing staff (relatively than the present oblique free kick for greater than six seconds),” IFAB mentioned in an announcement.
The brand new rule has been trialed in numerous youth leagues this season, together with in England and Italy, with referees elevating their arm after which incrementally bringing it right down to their facet like a hand on a clock to point the countdown.
The IFAB mentioned 4 nook kicks have been awarded within the 400-plus matches that have been a part of the trial. FIFA secretary common Mattias Grafstrom referred to as the take a look at “very profitable.”
The change shall be applied for the upcoming Membership World Cup, which begins June 14 in the USA. It would then come into impact worldwide in July.
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