WORLD Cup-style time-keeping will be introduced into the Prem next season after football’s Law-makers approved its global roll-out.
And fans in stadiums are set to be told by referees why VAR decisions have been made for the first time as the game’s tech revolution gathers pace.
Yesterday’s business meeting of the International FA Board at Wembley saw a series of significant decisions that will change the face of football – with extra added time in each half becoming part of the game.
England’s World Cup opener against Iran saw 27 minutes of added time across both halves, with an average “ball in play” of 58 minutes across the 64 matches.
But while Ifab chiefs hailed the “success” of the initiative, they do not believe that matches will last 105 minutes-plus across major leagues and competitions.
It meant there will be no trial of the idea, championed by former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein, of an independent stop-clock ensuring a minimum amount of ball in play time.
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FA chief executive Mark Bullingham explained: “We wanted to improve the amount the ball was in play within the existing Laws.
“The World Cup proved we could do that.
“Rather than having a standardised time of one minute for an injury, if a player went down for three minutes, there were three minutes added.
“So there’s no advantage for a player in staying on the ground longer than they might otherwise need to – and the team doesn’t gain advantage from it.”
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Miking up referees for the first time – to explain to the fans in the stadium and watching on TV why a decision has been changed by VAR – will be another huge change.
It will be trialled in Fifa competitions this season, starting with the imminent Club World Cup where refs include England’s Anthony Taylor, and potentially including the Women’s World Cup in the summer.
Bullingham added: “The conversation between the referee and the VAR will still be private.
“But then the referee will effectively go to the crowd and the broadcaster and say ‘this is what’s happened’.
“We think it’s significant and really important. We are doing it in international competitions first because that is harder than in domestic leagues where you can use your local language.”
The move is the first major step by the Ifab into allowing stadium and TV fans a proper insight into VAR deliberations, with Prem chiefs likely to be able to decide in the summer if they will follow suit.
It also backed the continued evolution of the Semi Automated Offside Technology deployed in the Champions League and World Cup, with members agreeing that the 3D animations give a better understanding of decisions for fans – although they are currently taking too long.
And referees will be ordered to follow the official Ifab guidelines on what constitutes “deliberate” and “non-deliberate” play by a defender to reset offside, likely to mean Mo Salah’s goal for Liverpool in the FA Cup 3rd round draw with Wolves would have been ruled out.
But despite the furore caused by Bruno Fernandes’ controversial goal in last weekend’s Manchester derby, the Ifab agreed there was no “gap” in the Laws that needed changing.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
