Under guidance from IFAB, goalkeepers will be punished differently if they hold onto the ball for more than eight seconds.
Football's lawmakers, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) have decided to implement a new rule regarding goalkeeper time wasting. Prior to 1 March 2025, goalkeepers had six seconds to release the ball, with violations punishable by an indirect free kick.
However, this rule was rarely - if ever - enforced, and it yellow cards were more often produced.
Over the past few months, IFAB had been trialing an adjustment to the rule which proposed that if a goalkeeper held onto the ball for more than eight seconds, they would concede a corner.
The rule alteration had been tested successfully in the Premier League’s U21 league. In December 2024, the Times reported that that if another trial in Italy’s U20 league was effective in stopping goalkeepers from wasting time unnecessarily then it was likely be adopted across the senior game and beyond.The full trial ran for over 400 games in three different competitions.
The new law was approved unanimously by IFAB at its annual general meeting in Northern Ireland on Saturday 1 March. They will be put into effect for the first time at the Club World Cup, which takes place in the USA this June.
Referees will also warn goalkeepers with a five second countdown before being penalised with the corner concession.
Fifa secretary general Mattias Grafstrom said: 'We had the test and the test was very successful. The referees didn't have to signal for a corner [often].'
