FIFA’s time-wasting crackdown is set to become global after soccer lawmakers approve a plan to encourage leagues around the world to step up enforcement of stoppage time.
The decision was one of several confirmed on Saturday at the International Football Advisory Board’s annual meeting, also known as the IFAB, which saw 100 minutes of match time at Qatar 2022 in World Cup-style stoppage time. next season’s Premier League.
However, despite renewed calls for introduction from the Premier League, a trial for a temporary concussion replacement was again denied.
The debate took place on Saturday at the 137th IFAB Annual Meeting in London. Football legislators took that position to heart by choosing the Marriott County Hall Hotel, located directly opposite the Houses of Parliament in central London, as the venue for their rally.
The IFAB is made up of four British associations and FIFA.
It’s a bizarre composition, a legacy of British origins in the Law of the Game that at times feels dated. It became very clear when it was announced that I had become the woman of
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said while sitting on a panel full of men and addressing an almost entirely men’s room that included reporters, “We’re a little late.
The agenda for Saturday’s meeting was largely determined at the IFAB’s annual business meeting held at Wembley Stadium in January. Much of what was agreed was simply a wave of hands.
However, important decisions were still being made, as well as new ones, such as the trial of the ‘budget’ version of VAR and preventing goalkeeper distraction tactics with penalties. These decisions will affect games around the world from July 1st.
This is what was decided on Saturday and what it means for the sport.
100 minute match on the way
First, FIFA Time is coming to a league near you.
During the men’s World Cup in November and December last year, match stoppages regularly reached double-digit minutes as referees began enforcing time-wasting laws more strictly. The IFAB hopes this approach will be expanded worldwide.
While there is no countdown or stop clock to measure ball-in-play time, the IFAB is committed to ensuring that the length of matches in different leagues does not vary too much.
“We want to fight time wasting,” Infantino said.
“Watch leagues around the world. We haven’t changed the laws of the game. they don’t need modification. We need to apply them consistently around the world. ”
The amount of injury time played is expected to increase from next season, but will decrease again as players realize there is no benefit in extending injury breaks.
“There are two fundamental challenges,” said Mark Bringham, FA Chief Executive Officer. “One is effective playing time, which can create a 25-minute difference. So how do you reduce that?
“What FIFA did in Qatar really helped them both.”
Substitute for concussion
After the decision was made at the annual business meeting in January, a request for an expected temporary concussion substitution trial was again denied.
Current trials of additional permanent substitutes were extended to facilitate data collection. Controversy remains in the IFAB panel about trying temporary concussion substitutes. This issue is still under review.
“The majority of the club’s medical professionals are in favor of a permanent replacement,” Infantino said. The first priority should be the athlete’s health.
“When experts heard that 25% were false negatives outside of soccer, that means athletes returned to other sports and had concussions an hour or a day later.” Based on our medical expertise, this is the best way to protect the health of our athletes.”
FIFA said it needed more awareness around the world about the issue and discussed using the term “brain injury” instead of “concussion” to emphasize its importance.
The PFA and the Premier League sent a letter to the IFAB before Saturday’s session, requesting a temporary concussion substitution trial.
“It’s really difficult when football legislators are preventing them from taking the necessary measures to protect their players,” said Adam White, PFA’s head of brain health, ahead of the meeting. “We believe this is a fundamental problem that needs to be addressed.”
VAR ‘light’ and goalkeeper booking
There have been some changes. The IFAB has confirmed that it will amend Article 14 to prevent goalkeepers from using gamesmanship on penalties.
This tactic was employed by Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez when he beat France in the World Cup final in December, for which he was eventually booked. With this change, goalkeepers were immediately scored for distraction tactics, and the amended law states:
IFAB also announced a trial plan for “VAR Light”. The aim is to serve competitions and countries that don’t have the resources to fully deploy VAR, but can adopt cheaper versions.
“The model will be explored around a video review system that can use a single camera to challenge decisions,” said Bringham.
Automated offside and VAR communication
Advances in semi-automated offsides were discussed in the context of “moving to a more autonomous system”. Automated offsides were described as “cutting offside times in half and being more accurate”.
A decision to improve communication of VAR decisions to fans in stadiums through a trial in which referees announce final VAR decisions to spectators was also approved after being given an initial green light in January.
The 12-month trial began at last month’s Club World Cup and will run at the U-20 Men’s World Cup in Indonesia in May-June this year.
It will then decide whether to continue with other FIFA tournaments this year, including the Women’s World Cup in late July and August.
Cracking down on referee abuse
The final issue approved by the IFAB was the establishment of a working group to focus on further ways to reduce referee abuse.
The FA has initiated testing with officers wearing body cameras at the grassroots level and updated the IFAB during the conference.
Infantino called this a “global problem”. he said: This is a problem all over the world and many young referees are lost. Why referee a match if someone has insulted you or beat you? ”
The working group will address this issue as an issue affecting the game from the top down.
“Young players and parents see the behavior of players and managers in high-profile matches and find it acceptable,” said Scottish FA Chief Executive Officer Ian Maxwell. “It’s reflected throughout the game. So this is something we need to work on from the top to improve.”
(Top image: Getty Images)
