Football’s lawmakers are set to discuss a proposed five-second limit for goal-kicks and throw-ins at the International Football Association Board (IFAB) AGM in Wales on Saturday — a change that could effectively end the growing use of long throws as an attacking tactic in the Premier League and EFL.
The board, made up of the English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish FAs plus FIFA, meets each spring and is the only body that can amend the Laws of the Game; any changes would then apply worldwide. IFAB may choose to trial some laws rather than introduce them permanently, making them optional for individual competitions. Successful votes would take effect from July 1, and FIFA is likely to trial some measures at this summer’s World Cup in North America.
Alongside the five-second proposal, IFAB is expected to back an expansion of VAR to include review of whether a second yellow-card offence was valid — something VAR is currently not allowed to examine. Insiders think that change will pass with little opposition; it would allow officials at Stockley Park to overturn incorrect second-yellow decisions such as Wily Boly’s sending-off for Nottingham Forest last season.
More controversially, IFAB will debate whether VAR should be able to adjudicate if a corner should be awarded. FIFA reportedly supports this move and may introduce it at the World Cup, but the home nations are wary, fearing more disruptive stoppages for fans. The Premier League currently has the lowest VAR intervention rates among the ‘big five’ European leagues. FA chief executive Mark Bullingham has voiced opposition, while Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s head of referees, argues VAR would only intervene for clear and obvious errors.
The eight-second rule for goalkeepers, introduced to curb time-wasting, is widely seen as successful, with few incidents this season where a keeper has exceeded the limit and conceded a corner. That perceived success has encouraged IFAB to consider further measures to speed up stoppages.
Under the proposed five-second rule, a player would have only five seconds to restart play from a goal-kick or throw-in. Exceeding the limit would reverse the throw-in to the opponent, and a delayed goal-kick would become a corner for the attacking side. Critics say five seconds may be too short to organise long throws and other set-piece routines, and referees worry that having to perform visual countdowns for keepers, throw-ins and goal-kicks could distract from other match duties.
Other measures on the agenda include extending the mandatory 30 seconds that an injured player must remain off the pitch after treatment to one minute — both to aid player welfare and deter time-wasting — and introducing a time limit for substitutions to further speed play. Sources suggest the home nations consider the existing 30-second rule to be working well, so there may be resistance to increasing it.
Each proposal will be put to a vote. A 75 per cent majority is required for any law change to pass: each home nation FA has one vote and FIFA has four, so six of the eight votes must be in favour for an amendment to be approved.