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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Paul MacInnes in Belfast

Goalkeepers to be punished with corner for holding ball more than eight seconds

Jordan Pickford holds the ball during Everton's game with Manchester City on Boxing Day 2024
Goalkeepers will get a five-second countdown from the referee before a corner is awarded against them. Photograph: Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images

Goalkeepers who waste time by holding on to the ball are to be penalised with the award of a corner, the law-making International Football Association Board (Ifab) has confirmed.

The new law, which will be introduced this summer, will mean goalkeepers have eight seconds to claim and redistribute the ball before they are penalised, with the referee giving a five-second countdown to warn them of incoming punishment. This will replace the current system whereby a keeper has six seconds to move the ball on and is punished with an indirect free-kick if they do not.

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