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What's the story?
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) met to propose a rule that is meant to clamp down on time-wasting in football matches.
Under football rules, players being substituted leave the pitch by walking through the technical area. The proposal put forward by this body recommends that players should leave the pitch when being substituted using the closest line.
In case you didn't know...
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is the body that decides the Laws of the Game of association football. The board was founded in 1886 to agree on standardised Laws for international competition.
Though it is a separate body from FIFA, the world governing body for football is ably represented on the board and holds 50% of the voting power.
The heart of the matter
This move proposed is definitely an effort to stop deliberate efforts by players to run down the clock when being substituted in an effort to see out a game.
They also met to discuss proposals as regards handball incidents, with particular emphasis on what constitutes a deliberate handball or not. This issue was discussed at length.
Other proposals also put forward for discussion includes the ABBA format of a penalty shootout. The board mentioned that this new format has not received enough support and does not seem to be generally accepted because of the "complex procedure".
For this reason, it was agreed upon that this will no longer be an option in future competitions.
Other law changes put forward for discussion includes the following: changes to the dropped ball procedure, goalkeepers only being required to have one foot on the goal-line when a penalty kick is taken, the ball not having to leave the penalty area at goal kicks and defending team free kicks taken inside the penalty area.
What's next?
There will be an annual general meeting on March 2, 2019, where these proposals will be voted on, as they seek to allow these become part of the laws of the game from June 2019.
