FIFA to bring new football rule

To combat time-wasting, FIFA has decided to increase the amount of time injured players must remain off the field of play, among a number of proposed rule changes.

Dale Johnson reports for the BBC that FIFA is proposing that players who receive treatment for an injury must spend one minute off the pitch, with the proposal set to be approved at the Annual General Meeting of the International Football Association Board on Saturday, CE Report quotes Kosova Press.

The Laws of the Game currently do not specify how long an injured player must remain off the field, leaving individual competitions to set their own rules. The plan now is to introduce a fixed period for all competitions, and it appears to be a compromise of one minute.

This season, a rule was introduced allowing goalkeepers to hold the ball for only eight seconds; if they exceed that time, possession is awarded to the opposing team via a corner kick.

The new rules will extend a similar system to goal kicks and throw-ins, again awarding possession to the other team if the restart takes too long.

Another change is the introduction of a 10-second limit for substitutions. If a substitution takes too long, the incoming player will not be allowed to enter the field until the next stoppage, at least one minute later.

All of the above proposals are expected to be approved this weekend and are likely to be implemented this summer at the World Cup.