Legendary Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is set to be the person who could make a radical change to the long standing football rule of throw-ins.
Wenger has already proposed ideas to make the UEFA Champions League and FIFA World Cup bigger, and the latter of the two to become biennial, a move that has been criticised heavily. And he has now targeted a certain rule of football in a bid to speed up the game.
Wenger has previously criticised throw-ins and free-kicks as he believes that both are the biggest time wasters during the 90 minutes of a regular football match. Wenger is aiming "to make the game more spectacular and quicker" and has suggested players restart with their feet instead of a throw in a limit of five seconds.
READ MORE: Saliba contract, Bissouma interest, Maitland-Niles exit, Vlahovic snub and new under-23 manager
The International Football Association Board - the rule-making group comprised of FIFA, The FA, the Irish FA, the Scottish FA and the FA of Wales - met in Doha, Qatar for their annual gathering, which was chaired by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, on Monday morning.
"There are two big time wasters at the moment - throw-ins and free kicks, and a little bit goal-kicks as well because you play out now in the box," Wenger said last year. "The target is to make the game more spectacular and quicker, and maybe with throw-ins you could play with your feet, but in a limit of five seconds for example, things like that. But it has to be tested and then has to be accepted by the IFAB. So we are looking at many things but there is not a lot anymore you can change."
As well as confirming the permanent five substitutions rule in top-level games, a move that was first used in the Premier League and other big divisions across Europe during the pandemic, they have now issues a further statement regarding trials which could be implemented. "Other trials such as explaining certain refereeing decisions during a game, a potentially fairer calculation of playing time, and kick-ins were also discussed," IFAB said via The Mirror. "The AGM was clear that these and any other trials require permission and will be supervised by The IFAB and FIFA."
For games allowing five substitutes, IFAB have agreed an increase to "the maximum number of named substitutes listed on the team sheet from 12 to 15 at the discretion of the competition organiser" and confirmed an extension to the trial period for concussion substitutions.
Football fans- Do you want to see kick-ins introduced at the expense and throw-ins and why? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below!
