The
International Football Association Board
(IFAB), the body responsible for defining the rules of football, will discuss this Saturday changes aimed at improving the behavior of footballers on the field of play and respect for referees.
Among the modifications that will be put on the table are the use of a body camera or
"body cam"
by the judge and that only the
captain
of each team can talk to him during a match.
These two points are on the
agenda
for the 138th IFAB Annual General Meeting
in
Glasgow
,
as is stricter enforcement of the rules against players and coaches engaging in disrespectful conduct and a review of the criteria that allow better management of the skirmishes that often occur during or after matches.
Another issue that the IFAB meeting promises to study is that the amount of
net time
for each match be respected, a premise that was respected and made evident during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, with added times of 10 or more minutes.
The idea is to continue along that line but in this case trying to be more severe with the players who delay the continuity of the game, especially the goalkeepers.
Also on the table will be the need to continue developing
semi-automatic technology
to evaluate possible forward positions, in order to speed up referees' decisions in these situations, and the option of temporary expulsions with the introduction of the so-called
blue card
.
Although all these aspects have been widely debated and agreed upon in previous meetings, on some there is still no
unity of opinion
regarding their implementation.
Regarding the use of the blue card, the
IFAB
technical and football advisory panels were in favor of its trial in higher categories, after having used it in youth football.
However, FIFA
management
believes that any trial of using this card should be limited to testing it responsibly at the lowest levels.
The mother house of ecumenical football is expected to reaffirm this position on Saturday, when the point is debated, as announced by the organization on February 8.
The penalty for handball violations will be reviewed at the IFAB meeting on Saturday.
Photo: Darren Staples / AFP.
Another aspect that will be reviewed in Saturday's conclave will be the portion of
rule 12
that refers to infractions punishable as a result of contact of the ball with
a hand or arm
of a footballer (with the exception of the goalkeeper in his penalty area ).
The objective will be to clarify which contacts should be sanctioned and which should not.
Along these lines, it is also planned to review
rule 14
, which specifies the procedure for the
execution of a penalty
.
In this sense, the magnifying glass will be placed on the correct location of the ball in the penalty spot and on the invasions of the area before the kicker comes into contact with the ball.
Another point previously agreed upon by the IFAB panels for study on Saturday is the inclusion in the rules of the game of the
communication of the final decisions
that are adopted after the intervention of those in charge of the video assistance referee (VAR) system.
The idea is that the resolution of the maneuver is communicated by the match judge through the stadium's loudspeakers, as has already been tested in some competitions such as the
Club World Cup
.
Ball placement and penalty encroachments will also be reviewed on Saturday.
Photo: Stringer / Reuters.
Changes to the rules of the game can only be approved at the annual general meetings of the IFAB, a body that has representatives from FIFA
and
the federations of Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland on its Board of Directors.
Each of the British federations has one vote, while the governing body of ball has four votes.
Any proposed changes require 75% of the vote to be approved.
Concussion Substitution
The International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPro) and the World League Forum asked the IFAB to discuss the
incorporation
into the regulations of the permanent substitution of a player in case of suspected
concussion
at the Annual General Meeting on Saturday in Glasgow . a practice that has already been implemented three years ago in some competitions.
The request of the international union organization of players has the support of different organizations linked to this sport such as the Scottish Professional Football League, the Professional Footballers' Associations of England, Scotland and Australia, the National Union of Professional Footballers of France and the United States Major League Soccer Players Association.
FIFPro aims to introduce permanent substitution for concussion into the regulations.
Photo: Juan Herrero / EFE.
For FIFPro, a positive response from the IFAB “would mean a significant advance in the well-being of players to ensure the integrity of national level competitions.”
The Chief Executive of the Scottish Players' Association,
Fraser Wishart
, noted that dementia and its relationship with professional football has been a major concern in the United Kingdom for some time.
“The University of Glasgow studied the medical histories of more than 7,000 former Scottish professional footballers born between 1900 and 1976, and found that former players are between 3.5 and 5 times more likely to suffer from dementia than normal citizens,” Wishart detailed.
In his opinion, unions, leagues and government agencies must assume responsibilities “to minimize the chances, to the extent possible, of players suffering from dementia.”
“We participated in this initiative because we believe that temporary concussion substitutions are a step forward,” Wishart concluded.