New rules that prescribe how long the goalkeeper can keep the ball into force from the beginning of next season, it has been announced.
The Committee of the International Football Federation (IFAB), the bringers of the law of the game, said the goalkeepers will now be punished for holding the ball for eight seconds or longer.
According to current rules, the guards should be sanctioned if they are held for more than six seconds, but the offense is rarely punished.
The punishment for such a work is currently an indirect free kick, but this will be changed to the corner according to the new laws, which enter into force on July 1, 2025.
IFAB also said the judges would implement counting for five seconds on their hands before granting a corner.
IFAB struggles with a goalkeeper that is spent ➡️ https://t.co/jeei0s1cfo
Watch out now https://t.co/1ml2gsdcsi: press conference after 139 annual assemblies pic.twitter.com/z0d8bmlwtw
– IFAB (@Theifab) March 1, 2025
The IFAB statement, after his AGM, says: “After the trials have shown a big positive impact where the goalkeepers held the ball for too long, the ifab unanimously decided to change the law 12.2 (an indirect free kick).
“Amendman means that if the goalkeeper holds the ball for more than eight seconds (with a judge who used a visual count of five seconds), the judge will award a corner blow to the opponent’s team (not an current indirect free kick for more than six seconds).”
The trial that enabled the guards to be held for eight seconds is already active in numerous competitions this season, including the Premier League 2.
