An extra change to protect the head of the footballers

The International Football Association Board (IFAB), the guardian body of football rules, took one of the last steps on Monday to introduce an additional change for cases in which footballers suffer serious blows to the head.

In a telematic meeting, its two advisory committees (football and technical) agreed on the need to add this measure "as soon as possible", and asked the IFAB that on December 16, at its annual business meeting, give approval good for the extra change to begin to be tested immediately in a lower category championship.

The decision to replace the player hit on the head would be made by his coach, not the referee, and ideally under the supervision and advice of a doctor;

But the IFAB understands that the health details must be decided by FIFA, for all levels of football, and that it is only up to them to modify the rule of the number of changes, which will continue to be five while the pandemic situation continues, to return later to three.

The IFAB established a group of experts a year ago after the University of Glasgow published the largest scientific study on the aftermath of football in the brains of players, which concluded that they had three times the risk of suffering a stroke than non-players. degenerative illness.

The alarm has continued to grow as cases such as Nobby Stiles, who died last month, also with cognitive impairment, became known.

With him there were already five members of the 1966 World Champion English team, including Bobby Charlton, diagnosed with degenerative diseases.

This Monday's meeting also reviewed the most recent changes to the hand rule, which have generated great discussions in various leagues and even the written protest to FIFA by UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, who demanded a return to the previous version. .

The IFAB advisory committees agree that a clearer wording of the standard is necessary to make it easier for the arbitrators to apply, and easier for the public to understand.

In particular, the advisory committees believe that referees should have more leeway to "judge the position of the hand or arm in relation to the movement of the footballer at that stage of the game."

Another issue that was addressed, although it is in a more embryonic stage, is the revision of the offside rule, again in focus by the VAR lines.

The IFAB agrees with some critics that technology has put the attacker at a disadvantage and is looking for a way to regain dynamism in the game and restore the "idea of ​​the benefit of the doubt", according to a source from the agency.