Premier League 2 are trialing a rule that will try and tackle incidents of goalkeepers holding on to the ball for too long.
Ahead of the 2024/25 campaign, it was announced that a new trial would be introduced to Premier League 2 – the format that replaced the Under-21 Premier League as the primary competition for young players contracted to top-flight professional clubs.
In conjunction with International Football Association Board (IFAB), which oversees the Laws of the Game, referees have been instructed that the goalkeeper cannot hold the ball for longer than eight seconds. If this happens, then a corner kick will be awarded to the opposing team.
In fact, the goalkeeper may be cautioned as a result.
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So how does it work exactly? Well, the referee will start counting the eight seconds when the goalkeeper has clear control of the ball with their hands. They will also use a raised hand to clearly show the countdown from five seconds to zero.
If the goalkeeper holds onto the ball for longer than eight seconds, then a corner kick will be taken from the side of the field of play closest to where the goalkeeper was positioned when penalised. The goalkeeper will be warned for the first offence and cautioned with a yellow card for any subsequent offence.
In the latest episode of Stick To Football, brought to you by Sky Bet, Chief Refereeing Officer for PGMOL, Howard Webb, was at hand to discuss the standard of refereeing around the UK and the impact of VAR in the Premier League.
He also touched on the rule that is being trialled in Premier League 2 this season.
“In Premier League 2, they’re trialing something around the goalkeeper holding the ball for more than six seconds," he said.
"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.”
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville, a regular on the podcast, was a fan of the potential rule change. "I like that," he said. "I think we all like that."
Neville was vocal about goalkeepers taking too long on the ball. In fact, he said it drives him crazy.
"Howard, the biggest delay in the game is when goalkeepers take longer than the six seconds with the ball," he said.
"We talk about delaying the game, a lad like Declan Rice kicked the ball away a touch and to be fair I get the rules, but that’s wasting a millisecond.
"Then you’ve got a situation where goalkeepers are holding the ball for nine, ten seconds, sometimes 13 or 14 seconds – they’re wasting six or seven seconds every time.
"That never gets pulled up and that rule is still in. It drives my crazy."
Topics: Premier League, Gary Neville
Jack Kenmare