FIFA to give refs a close watch
THE Premier League will be monitored next season to make sure referees are accurately calculating the length of stoppages in matches, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said.
FIFA’s referees chief Pierluigi Collina led a concerted effort to cut down time-wasting at last year’s World Cup finals in Qatar, and the International Football Association Board wants the same criteria to be used in competitions worldwide from July 1.
On average, 11 minutes and eight seconds were added on in total in first-round matches in Qatar.
Goal celebrations, as well as player injuries, substitutions and VAR checks must all be closely monitored by officials.
“We have seen a very inconsistent application of these laws of the game when it comes to timewasting, and some leagues have matches lasting less than 50 minutes, and others have around 60 minutes now,” Infantino said at a press conference in London.
“We will count on the good and positive spirit of everyone, I don’t think there is any (need for) coercive measures.
“We will monitor leagues all over the world and search for dialogue. We are not changing the laws of the game, and there will be no stoppage clock.”
The IFAB also confirmed the decision of the annual business meeting in January to reject a trial of temporary concussion substitutes in the Premier League, France’s Ligue 1 and Major League Soccer in the United States.
The Premier League and the Professional Footballers’ Association had written to the IFAB asking for it to reconsider, with the PFA saying nearly 80 per cent of its members supported a trial in a recent consultation.
Infantino said: “If there is a risk or feeling or possibility that there has been a concussion it’s better to take the player out, to take zero risk.”