Goalkeepers will be punished if they hold onto the ball for more than eight seconds if a trialled rule change is implemented into football law.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) are suggesting referees award the opposition a corner if a goalkeeper keeps the ball for longer than the designated time.
That’s according to The Times, who say the rule change would see referees hold their hand up to count down from five seconds to zero to alert the players between the sticks of their time limit.
The rule alteration – which is designed to stop goalkeepers from time wasting – has been trialled successfully in the Premier League’s under-21 competition.
The report states if another trial in Italy’s under-20 league is effective in stopping goalkeepers from halting the game unnecessarily then it will likely be adopted across the game.
Currently, goalkeepers are typically only cautioned with bookings if an official deems them to only be holding on to the ball to run down the clock.
They also have the power to award an indirect free kick if the goalkeeper fails to release the ball quickly enough.
However, this rarely happens due to it adding a further delay while the defence gets into position.
It also produces a clear goal scoring opportunity for the opposition.
Patrick Nelson, the Irish FA’s chief executive and board member of IFAB, said: “The data that’s coming out of [the trial] so far is very, very interesting, in that the two trials so far have been that if the goalkeeper is holding on to the ball too long, the referee will award a corner.
“The instances of corners being awarded are almost non-existent, which would indicate to us, certainly looking at the data, that the deterrent is exactly what we would want it to be at this point.
“It’s speeding up the goalkeepers letting go of the ball and bringing it back into play.”
The rule has also been trialled in Malta, but with a throw-in being awarded instead of a corner if a goalkeeper exceeds the eight second limit.
The ball has been held by goalkeepers on 796 occasions and they have never exceeded the time allowed.
Nelson added: “The wrath of any coach for any goalkeeper who’s given away a corner or a throw-in that leads to a goal is always certainly going to mean the goalkeeper is not going to do that twice.
“It’s going to change goalkeeper behaviour.”
Meanwhile, IFAB are also looking into changes to the offside law after a proposal from former Arsenal manager and current FIFA chief of global football Arsene Wenger.
The rule change would mean there has to be daylight between the attacker and defender to be offside.
IFAB’s technical director David Elleray said: “We’re continuing to discuss those [changes].
“We’re all very sympathetic to the fact that technology has removed the benefit of the doubt that used to exist.
“We all agree that it would be nice if goals weren’t necessarily chalked off for a toenail.
“We’re looking at that and this trial is part of a broader look at whether there is anything we can do.
“We are seeing if there are ways in which we could deal with the challenges.
“This is part of an early debate.”
