Premier League clubs are set to face a punishment if they do two things that we see every single weekend.
The past few years have seen Ifab, football’s lawmakers, look to crack down on goalkeepers using delay tactics.
And now the Sun has claimed that the league is set to target teams that order ball kids to run down the clock if their team is winning.
A panel is allegedly looking at possible punishments for not returning the ball to the opposition fast enough.
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Famously, former Chelsea star Eden Hazard was sent off and banned for three matches for kicking then-17-year-old Swansea ball boy Charlie Morgan during the 2013 League Cup semi-final.
The incident prompted warnings to clubs over time-wasting.
However, Premier League chiefs are said to be concerned that the tactic is creeping back into the game.
Furthermore, last week the publication claimed that an eight-second rule is being proposed to stop keepers holding the ball for too long, with a trial potentially to be introduced in the Football League from next season.
The current six-second rule, which is rarely enforced, will allegedly be extended to eight seconds.
Referees will also reportedly be asked to hold up their hands and count down to zero when a keeper has five seconds remaining.
Should a keeper fail to release the ball in time, they could reportedly be at risk of giving a throw-in or corner away.
In a strange turn of events, the ball boy who was on the receiving end of Hazard’s frustrations back in 2013 has now become a multimillionaire.
The duo were even reunited earlier this year.
Hazard captioned a photo of the pair on Instagram as: “You have come a long way in 11 years, my friend.”
Chris Byfield