Football lawmakers make HUGE rule change which will have major impact on goalkeepers next season...

TIME-wasting goalkeepers will be penalised by conceding a CORNER from next season under a massive change in the Laws.

Under the new Law, which will be debuted when Chelsea and Manchester City play in the Club World Cup in the summer, keepers will have eight seconds to release the ball once they have it under control.

After just three seconds, referees will raise their hands and fingers to count down to zero, with a corner being awarded if the keeper has not played the ball.

Law-makers on the International FA Board also backed trials of the proposed new “torso” offside Law revealed by Sun Sport yesterday as well as a raft of other changes.

But the new keeper law was the most eye-catching decision made at Ifab’s Annual General Meeting in Belfast, with members agreeing that the current six-second limit was rarely enforced because the punishment of an indirect free-kick was seen as too harsh.

Trials in Premier League 2, Malta and Italy - where there were just four corners awarded from more than 400 matches but keepers released the ball within five seconds more than 75 per cent of the time - saw the green light to the Law change.

Fifa general secretary Mattias Grafstrom said: “Referees have not been applying the law but the tests of this were very successful.

“The combination of the visual part with the referee signalling that the countdown was on and the consequences of not releasing the ball were very beneficial.”

Ifab refs’ chiefs and former Prem whistler David Elleray explained: “There was a classic example at Old Trafford last season, when Brighton won 3-1.

“The average time Andre Onana, the Man United goalkeeper held the ball was 4.8 seconds, while Jason Steele for Brighton held the ball was 14.8 seconds, average. So we've tried to address that.

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“We’ve got to a point where the goalkeepers are never penalised. It's ridiculous, the goalkeeper catches the ball, nobody's near him, he falls on the ground and lies there for eight, nine 10 seconds.

“We’re getting players saying we must do something about it. So we have to do something.

“In the 170 games in PL2, they've had three corners given. So there’s a clear deterrent effect. It speeds up the game and is more positive.”

Ifab bosses believe that fans will join in the countdown to further force keepers to speed up play, while it is likely that similar punishments to prevent delays of throw-ins and goal-kicks will be considered over the coming seasons.

Offside changes are also on the agenda with the “torso” idea, being pushed by Arsene Wenger, seen as the likely solution to “toenail” offsides.

Elleray added: “All the Law changes on offside over the years have been about encouraging attackers but the development of VAR, and players given offside because their nose or knee have been fractionally in front of the defender, has taken it the other way.

“If you went for “daylight” it would maybe be too much of an advantage for the attacker while the torso, the shirt, might be the best compromise as it’s a very stable part of the body.

“It will be the same Law in the Premier League as on a park pitch.

“The difference will be that, with the semi automated technology, the cameras will measure six data points on a player’s upper body. If any part of the attacker's torso overlaps the defender's torso, then you're onside.”

Other changes will mean players or managers inadvertently entering the pitch to play the ball before it has gone out being penalised by an indirect free-kick and no further sanction.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was booked for doing so when he tried to speed up play in the Champions League defeat by Inter Milan.

Referee stadium announcements of decisions changed after VAR intervention are now a formal part of the Laws, while referees will be able to give possession via a drop ball to the side which would have had the ball next if a clearance or pass hits them.

And Ifab approved the formal roll-out of trials of body cams for referees.

It could see refs equipped with mini cameras in the Prem in the next few seasons, with Ifab believing it will improve player behaviour and also help determine potential disciplinary issues.