Ifab discusses countdown on throw-ins & goal-kicks

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The International Football Association Board - football's lawmakers - has discussed placing a countdown on throw-ins and goal-kicks to stop timewasting.

At a meeting of the Ifab's Football and Technical Advisory Panels (FAP-TAP) on Tuesday, it was also agreed to go forward with a proposal to allow a video assistant referee (VAR) review when a player has been sent off after receiving a second yellow card.

However, it was decided against introducing possible VAR reviews for incorrectly awarded corners which lead to a goal.

The increase in long throws in the Premier League this season has led to additional delays, with teams effectively having to get in position for set-pieces rather than a quick restart.

Goalkeepers also take additional time over goal-kicks, increasingly so towards the end of games as a timewasting measure.

It follows the logic of a law change the Ifab introduced for goalkeepers this year, imposing an eight-second limit on holding the ball in open play before it must be released.

Once the count has started, the referee makes a signal when the last five seconds have begun and if the goalkeeper fails to release the ball a corner is awarded.

On Saturday, Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher was penalised with a corner against Liverpool deep into stoppage time when he held the ball for 13 seconds.

While the countdown remains an area for debate for now, FAP-TAP did support a change to VAR protocol which would allow a reprieve when a second yellow card is wrong.

It will not be possible to review potential second yellow cards because of the high number of potential incidents and delays.

Over the past two seasons in the Premier League, the Key Match Incident (KMI) Panel has judged that 17 players have been incorrectly sent off for two bookings.

The proposal will now go forward to the Ifab's annual business meeting on 20 January for further discussion, before it is likely to be ratified at the annual general meeting in Cardiff on 28 February.

The change would come into force for next season.

The Ifab had been considering a number of changes to VAR protocol after fully assessing it for the first time since it was added to the laws of the game in 2018.

However, in July, Mark Bullingham, chief executive of the Football Association (FA) - which has a seat on the Ifab alongside the three other British associations and Fifa - told BBC Sport there isn't "any need" to extend the use of the VAR system.

The FAP-TAP also discussed the ongoing low-level trial of a change to the offside law, which would see a player onside if any part of their body was level with the second-last defensive player.

Much of the debate centered on the aims of changing the law, and whether that was driven by controversial marginal offside decisions in VAR competitions or to promote attacking play.

Supported by Arsene Wenger, Fifa's head of global football, the idea was first put forward in 2020 but concerns about its tactical effect on the game have meant it has not made it to full trials.

The FAP-TAP, which meets every October to discuss possible law changes, features high-profile former referees, coaches and players such as Wenger, Luis Figo and Pierluigi Collina.

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