IFAB plans 100-minute EPL matches to stop time-wasting

The FIFA World Cup-style additional time in Qatar is now likely to go worldwide after football lawmakers sanctioned plans to implement it nationwide. The International Football Advisory Council has revealed intentions to alter stoppage-time rules as part of attempts to prevent time-wasting during football matches.

The choice was taken at the 137th annual general meeting of the IFAB, a board made up of FIFA and the four British associations, which met in London on Saturday to discuss various game rules.

Stoppage time was a major topic of discussion at the meeting, and lawmakers adopted plans to cut down on football time-wasting. Starting with the upcoming season, the Premier League may adopt the FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar style, which includes double-digit minutes added during matches.

The new strategy will ensure that match officials strictly enforce every minute squandered during matches in the additional time, and starting with the 2023–2024 season, we might start seeing 100-minute Premier League matches on a regular basis.

The adoption of a countdown and a stoppage clock, which would have measured the total amount of time the ball was in play, was not adopted, according to IFAB, whose objective is to lessen regional disparities in match length.

Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, stated, “We want to fight against time-wasting. “The rules of the game are there, and we need to make sure that everyone abides by how they should be applied. We’ll keep an eye on leagues everywhere. The rules of the game are not being altered. They don’t require any changes. We simply must. We just have to apply them consistently all over the world.”

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham expressed concerns about the new stoppage time strategy, pointing out two “basic difficulties” that would result.

“There are two main difficulties. The first is that actual playing time varies quite a bit. The difference can be up to 25 minutes. How then do you lessen that? Making ensuring there are no incentives for time wastage is the second step, according to Bullingham. Both of those were greatly aided by what FIFA did in Qatar.

At the debate on Saturday, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) also announced that Law 14 of the game rules would be changed to prohibit goalkeepers from using gamesmanship during penalties, a strategy used by Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez during shootouts against France in the 2022 World Cup final.

Goalkeepers will now be issued an immediate caution for using deterrent techniques, and the law will also state that they “must not act in a manner which unfairly deters the kicker at a penalty kick or during penalties.”

IFAB also revealed plans to test “VAR light,” which would let nations and competitions choose a less expensive but still useful version of the system if they lacked the funds for the full VAR technology.

Bullingham added, “A concept will be investigated around a video-review system that will allow matches with one camera to contest a decision.

The position on the matter has been further cemented after the decision was made earlier this year during a meeting in January that the only permanent concussion substitution will be in place for the time being. In the meantime, attempts for temporary concussion substitutions were once more rejected.