New Football Rules Will Help Fans Understand Refereeing Decisions – FIFA
FIFA’s referee committee chairman, Pierluigi Collina, has revealed that the new football rules will help fans understand refereeing decisions ahead of the FIFA World Club Competition.
The world football governing body is set to trial five new football rules at the tournament in the United States of America, which starts on June 15th.
The new rules are expected to touch multiple parts of the sport, from goalkeeper behaviour and assistant referee positioning to greater transparency in VAR decisions and innovations aimed at improving the interaction between players and officials.
Among the rules expected to be implemented is that goalkeepers will now be restricted to holding the ball for a maximum of eight seconds. If the limit is exceeded, the opposing team will be awarded a corner kick, replacing the current penalty of an indirect free kick. The goal is to discourage time-wasting and encourage continuous play.
Referees will wear body cameras during matches, with the footage used during live match broadcasts.
FIFA will also trial an ‘advanced’ semi-automated offside technology using sensors inside the balls in hopes of making further improvements on the tech already used in UEFA competitions like the Champions League.
The fourth rule will be the use of AI to collect live match data, helping fans see even more stats and figures to dissect the match.
Finally, managers and coaching staff will be able to request their substitutions to the fourth official through a digital tablet, replacing the old-fashioned paper slips currently used.
Collina believes that the new rules will bring the game closer to the fans, making the sport exciting.
He said, “I’m sure that, for all 117 match officials selected for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, being among those who are participating in the competition for the first time ever is something very exciting because they will be part of football history.
“These innovations demonstrate FIFA’s commitment to using technology and improving the overall football experience, with a particular emphasis on enhancing the transparency and understanding of refereeing decisions.
The five rules will be tested in a competitive tournament when the newly revamped World Club Cup starts later this month.
Collina was a highly rated, no-nonsense referee during his active days.
He was named The World’s Best Referee by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics six consecutive times from 1998 to 2003.
New Football Rules Will Help Fans Understand Refereeing Decisions – FIFA is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
