The protocol behind a trial to limit the time goalkeepers hold onto the ball and run down the clock has been outlined by football’s lawmakers, the International Football Association Board (IFAB).
It was announced last month that leagues would be invited to test two different methods of changing possession if the ball is held onto for too long, giving either a corner or a throw-in to the opposition.
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Trials will be held throughout the 2024-25 season and appraised at the IFAB meetings at the end of 2025. If successful it’s possible, but not certain, that the law could change across all competitions for the 2026-27 season.
The law currently forbids goalkeepers from holding onto the ball for longer than six seconds, with the punishment an indirect free kick from where the goalkeeper was stood.
The IFAB explained that referees have become reluctant to enforce the six-second law because a free kick is “too great an advantage, as the chance of scoring is high, whereas they had no possibility of scoring when the offence occurred, as they did not have possession of the ball.”
