Ifab is ready to change the rules of football again. As? By extending the powers of the VAR and declaring war on those who fake an injury to waste time.
Not a real revolution, but a series of changes that will modify the habits of footballers and fans. The Ifab, the body that has the power to intervene on the rules of the game of football, is ready for a series of regulatory interventions that from next season will speed up the pace of matches by reducing interruptions and waste of time. At least in the intention of composing the panel that once a year deals with amending and rewriting the 17 rules of the game of football.
It will happen in March and will have an impact from next July 1st, but the path was traced in the assembly meeting which has the task of indicating to the wise men how to intervene. What will happen? First of all, a sort of countdown will be established for goal kicks or throws from the sidelines. No more feints and time-draughts. The model is that of the 8 seconds that from 2025 will be granted to goalkeepers to dispossess themselves of the ball, under penalty of being awarded a corner kick to the attacking team. An experiment considered successful and, therefore, on the verge of being extended to other cases.
There is also news for injured players who are helped on the pitch. The legislator’s feeling is that too often it is a tactic to buy time: with the modification of the regulation they will have to leave the pitch and remain there for a defined period of time which will be indicated once the game resumes. The idea is to include a deterrent to delaying tactics.
The real turning point, however, will take place on the extension of the VAR protocol. The Ifab assembly has, in fact, recommended that the referees on the monitor also take action on the occasion of expulsions for warnings by verifying the correctness of the second yellow card. And the VAR will be able to pronounce itself, as long as it does so immediately, even if a corner has been assigned incorrectly, bringing the situation back to a correct solution.
Finally, nothing definitive about offside. The debate on returning to the light or remaining with the current norm is open and sees many experts, especially coaches, worried that giving an advantage of at least one meter to the attackers will end up convincing the teams to return to defending with a low block. Those in favor and against are divided and for now the Ifab has been recommended to continue with the trials without making a final decision.
