England’s top flight are testing out a groundbreaking new rule in their development league, and it could spell bad news for goalkeepers
The Premier League is trialling a new rule to crack down on goalkeepers wasting time.
According to the laws of the game, if a ‘keeper “controls the ball with the hand/arm for more than six seconds before releasing it” inside their penalty area, then the referee should, in theory, award the opposition an indirect free-kick.
However, this rule is scarcely enforced, and high-profile incidents, namely David Raya’s alleged time-wasting during Arsenal ’s 2-2- draw with title-challenging rivals Manchester City, have seen shot-stoppers come under fire for their use of what has been dubbed the ‘dark arts.’
Yet, there may be hope that officials will start to crack down on such tactics, as PGMOL chief Howard Webb has revealed that a new rule is even being trialled in the developmental Premier League 2.
“In Premier League 2, they’re trialling something around the goalkeeper holding the ball for more than six seconds,” Webb stated, appearing on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.
“If they hold it for eight, and don’t release it, it goes to a corner to the other team. After three seconds, the referee counts down, and if the goalkeeper is daft enough to hold onto it, it’ll be a corner. That avoids the ridiculous situation where you have an indirect free kick in the six-yard box, and players are chasing out.”
As mentioned, Gunners star Raya was singled out last month for his use of the ‘dark arts’ against City, bringing said time-wasting debate to the forefront.
The Spaniard reportedly took 45.3 seconds on average to complete each of the 12 goal kicks he was given as his side, reduced to ten in the first half following Leandro Trossard’s controversial sending-off, attempted to stave off the constantly-knocking champions.
This meant that, according to Opta Analyst, Raya wasted over nine minutes of the game via goal kicks alone, a statistic that lead the league at the time.
Aside from Raya, another notable offender is Newcastle shot-stopper Nick Pope, who ranks just behind the 29-year-old in terms of time wasted in a single match – this also coming in a clash where the guilty party were reduced to 10 men: the Magpies’ 1-0 win over against Southampton in August.
Though referees do often dish out bookings to those they feel may be bending the rules, giving the opposition a corner, as Webb’s mentioned trial aims to enforce, may deter those looking to waste time in the future.
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