Match of the Day host Gary Lineker believes Arsene Wenger 's plan to replace throw-ins with kick-ins will not work because it will slow down the game.
Former Arsenal manager Wenger, who is FIFA's chief of global football development, wants players to restart games with their feet instead of their hands to make the game quicker. The International Football Association Board (IFAB) has announced the idea will be trialed.
The IFAB confirmed the news after their annual meeting in Qatar on Monday morning. The rule-making group are made up of FIFA, FA, Irish FA, Scottish FA and FA of Wales officials and their recent gathering was chaired by FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
"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," explained Wenger last year. "The target is to make the game more spectacular and quicker.
"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 rested 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."
Yet Lineker isn't convinced. He tweeted on Monday evening: "Not sure it’s a good idea. Will slow the game down as every throw-in in the opponents half becomes a freekick. If you want to change something; allow players to take quick free-kicks, even to themselves. Punish those who foul, not those who are fouled. Would speed the game up too."
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Lineker has previously called for players to pass free-kicks to themselves, as this is not currently permitted in the game. As per the FA's rulebook, free-kicks "must be stationary and the kicker must not touch the ball again until it has touched another player."
Speaking in December 2018, Lineker said: "There's a couple of little things I would like to change. Free-kicks - you should be able to take them immediately - even to yourself."
However, the ex-forward also called for the use of kick-ins, contradicting his current opinion. Lineker added: "I would get rid of throw-ins and just have a kick-in. It’s called football. What’s the point of throw-ins? It takes ages. Just put it down and knock it in."
One of the biggest stumbling blocks is the offside rule. Players can't be offside from a throw-in. If the same principle is applied to kick-ins, attackers will find it much easier to get in-behind defences, giving the offensive team a greater advantage.
Kick-ins have been trialed before. As reported by Football365, leagues in England, Belgium and Hungary all tested the concept during the 1994-95 campaign. The trial failed, with the new-look 'throw-ins' effectively becoming free-kicks when awarded in the opposition half.
"It was a pathetic experiment and it was better when we went back to proper football the following season," a St Albans City player told the club's matchday programme when asked about kick-ins in 1998, as quoted by a non-affiliated St Albans City archive.
