Referees will award corners instead of free kicks against goalkeepers who attempt to waste time by holding on to the ball for more than eight seconds from the start of the 2025/26 campaign onwards.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) made the worldwide amendment to Law 12.2 at their 139th annual meeting. The previous rule stipulated that indirect free kicks inside the penalty area should be awarded against goalkeepers who hold the ball for longer than six seconds.
However, Law 12.2 has not been readily applied by referees in world football for many years, forcing IFAB to make a new rule change to reduce the amount of time-wasting in the modern game.
The amendment, which comes into effect this July and will be used for all FIFA Club World Cup matches, has been trialled in England and Italy’s youth divisions this season, as well as Malta’s top tier. Throughout its use, only four corners have been awarded in over 400 matches, highlighting the “major positive impact” it has had on reducing time-wasting among goalkeepers.
“A visual five-second countdown” from the referee will indicate to goalkeepers when they need to release the ball, with the official raising their arm before incrementally bringing it down to their side.
This rule change will likely be celebrated among supporters who have grown weary of goalkeepers taking sometimes upwards of 20 seconds to release the ball as they look to frustrate their opponents and run down the clock. Liverpool manager Arne Slot was notably caught counting the second Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno held onto the ball during a 2-2 draw with the Cottagers earlier this season.
IFAB announced other changes to the laws, too. Any competition can now choose whether or not to introduce the ruling that states only the team captain can speak to the referee, which can be implemented to “instil higher levels of fairness and mutual respect”.
Another sizeable amendment means that competitions can now choose to announce VAR decisions to the crowd – something that has been deployed in the Carabao Cup semi-finals this season.