Recently I mentioned that as well as a few changes in the Laws of the Game agreed at the IFAB AGM in March, some trial changes which are carried out in limited competitions, were also sanctioned.
Included in these trials is a contentious part of the game, the length of time that goalkeepers often retain possession of the ball.
Various attempts have been made to tackle it. If we go back before this habit started, the goalkeeper could be a target for a shoulder charge. There was a famous goal at a FA Cup Final when, with the ball in his arms, the goalkeeper was brutally barged into his goal.
This tactic was later forbidden, and goalkeepers can no longer be challenged in their area, when they have control of the ball, which means to have at least one hand on the ball or even bouncing it or throwing it in the air.
This, of course, gave goalkeepers a great opportunity to hang on to the ball as long as they wanted, especially when time is running out.
An early restriction was brought in, where the referee could take action if the goalkeeper laid on the ball too long, but no timing was given. Apart from this they could hold to the ball for as long as they liked.
A new solution was required and first the goalkeeper was forbidden to take more than four steps with the ball, before releasing it.
I remember it well. I was linesman at an FA Cup preliminary round, but we hadn’t been sent details of the Law change by the FA, and only knew what we read in the newspapers.
The home team goalkeeper dived to save the ball and pushed it away. He then jumped up and ran five paces to pick up the ball. The referee decided this breached the new four step rule and wrongly gave a free kick.
In 2020 this was replaced by the six second rule that we have today, but which is mostly ignored by everybody, sadly including referees.
I remember however the referee at a FIFA Women’s Cup Final rightly penalising the American goalkeeper for delay.
This created a great furore and even more so when it led to the winning goal for the Canadian team.
So what’s the solution that this trial hopes will encourage more referees to follow her example? It’s to extend the time a goalkeeper can hang on to the ball, from six to eight seconds.
By Dick Sawdon Smith
