There are a few rule changes ready to happen in the world of football; the changes will come into effect from June 1, 2019 any completion starting before that can delay the introduction of the changes till next season.
With technology changing all around us and becoming an important aspect of the modern game, the tweaks in the rules of the games comes as no surprise. With the changes ready to come into effect, let’s look at some of those changes.
Substitutions
Players who are being subbed of and replaced must now leave the field by the nearest point on the touchline, which means the end of slow walks to the half way line.
Players will now have to think about how they exit the pitch, they must also head straight to the technical are or go to the dressing room otherwise they can be called for dishonorable conduct.
Penalty Kicks
The penalty kick and Goalkeepers positioning conundrum has cropped up a few too many times in recent years.
The goalkeeper must not be moving or touching the goalposts when the kick is taken, he must also have at least a part of one of his feet on in line with the goal-line. The kick taker will now also be allowed a quick treatment if essential before taking the kick.
Well the freedom of the goalkeeper has kept on reducing in football, this just is another moment in that, Good Luck keepers.
Free Kicks
An interesting change that is about to happen is that the IFAB (International football association board) has approved a rule which excludes the players of the attacking team from being in the wall.
This has been done to avoid unnecessary physicality between players, the presence of an attacking player in the wall has been deemed against the ‘spirit of the game’.
Cards for Coaches
In order to restrict the conduct from coaches who are not always in agreement with the referee or the opposition manager, the officials will now be able to give them a yellow or red card.
Drop Ball
The drop ball as we know it is no more. If play is stopped outside the penalty area the ball will be given to the player who last touched the ball, and if the same happens inside the penalty are the ball will be rolled over to the goalkeeper.
Whether the changes made improve the game or not is yet to be seen, but the changes made tell us that the authorities are working towards improving the game, and that’s what we want, It’s not the first time the rules of our beautiful games have been tweaked and it probably won’t be the last as we continue to figure out the best way forward.
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