Could we soon see the end of stoppage time in soccer? What about players dribbling on free kicks instead of, well, kicking the ball?
IFAB, the body that FIFA adopts its “Laws of the Game” from, is considering a batch of radical new rules that could change soccer as we know it. According to a new document released Saturday, a number of drastic rule changes are under consideration, including ending stoppage time in favor of simply stopping the clock every time play stops.
Here are the key changes included in the document:
• Players allowed to dribble and play free kicks to themselves instead of kicking to a teammate
• Referees stop the clock whenever the ball is out of play and match length changed from 90 minutes to 60 minutes
• Goal kicks don’t need to exit the penalty area
• The full-time whistle can only be called when the ball is out of play
• No follow-up attempts allowed off penalty kicks
• Penalty goals are awarded for goal-line handball
There is a lot of discussion that would need to happen before such changes would be adopted by FIFA and be used in official matches, but IFAB admits they are considering the new rules to make soccer more entertaining.