The International Football Legislative Council (IFAB) has issued the new version of the Football Law that will be in effect in the 2021-2022 season, which has been studied by referees around the world and started to be implemented in the matches of the new season.
The International Legislative Council is responsible for issuing legislation and the law of the game, not the International Football Association (FIFA), as some believe.
Want to know more about the changes to the Laws of the Game 2021/22?
Have a look at the new Law changes section on our website, incl.
video examples, in four languages:
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— The IFAB (@TheIFAB) July 2, 2021
The Football Law includes 17 articles, and has undergone drastic changes since the 2018 World Cup, when new doors were introduced after the adoption of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology.
IFAP issued an Arabic version of the football law in addition to other approved languages, most notably English.
The Laws of the Game app is now also available in Arabic.
Download or update the app now:
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➡️ https://t.co/buUEkhoKqO pic.twitter.com/3ecizw4GSm
— The IFAB (@TheIFAB) July 2, 2021
Two amendments were made to the Football Law Notes;
They are the adoption of the measurement in the metric unit in case there is a difference between it and the English units of measurement, in addition to replacing the words (signal, signs, or gestures) mentioned in Articles 4, 6 and 12 with the words “action, actions, or conduct”.
The amendments made by IFAP to the new law are as follows:
Article 1 "Field of play"
1- The goal posts and the crossbar of the two goals must be of the same shape (square, rectangular, circular or oval, or a combination of these specifications).
2- Allowing the transmission of the goal-line technology signal - which determines the ball crossing the line into the goal - to the video assistant referee (VAR) room, where it was previously sent to the arena referee only.
Article 6 "Other Rulers"
3- The International Football Association Board (FIFA) has created an approved international list of video assistant referees, similar to the referees of the field and assistant referees, so that the referees of this list can be used only in official matches and tournaments.
FIFA stressed that the referees of the mouse assist the referees of the stadium only according to the protocol it has established.
Article 7 "Duration of the match"
4- The new amendment clarified an important point regarding lost time that was causing widespread controversy, which is that if play stopped near the end of the match for a long time - such as a player being seriously injured in the 87th minute and play stopped for 7 minutes until he was transferred safely off the field - then the time What the umpire adds to the missed time is only 3 minutes (time remaining from original time) and not the longest stopping time.
Article 11 "Infiltration"
5- Taking into account that the shoulder is not part of the arm when calculating hand touch violations, and emphasizing that it is a part of the body through which a goal can be legitimately scored.
6- The hands and arms of players - including goalkeepers - are not taken into account when calculating offside, knowing that the arm extends to the lower part of the armpit.
The new Laws of the Game are now binding to all future competitions played worldwide.
Competitions that started before 1 July have the flexibility to introduce the new Laws earlier or delay their introduction until the start of the next competition.
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— The IFAB (@TheIFAB) July 1, 2021
Article 12 "Errors and Misconduct"
7- A free kick or penalty kick may be awarded if a violation is committed inside or outside the field of play against the referees or one of the players registered in the team’s list, whether he is a player, a substitute, a substitute, or even sent off the field, a technical official (coach) or an administrator.
It is required for the violation to be counted during the course of play.
The interpretation of this amendment is that if the offense is committed inside the field, it is counted from the place in which it was committed, and this is understandable, but if the offense is committed outside the field, it is counted according to its location, meaning the place closest to it. Outside the touch line, the infringement is carried out from the contact area line, and so on.
8- A player shall be penalized with a direct free kick or penalty kick if he bites or spit on one of the opponents registered in the list of the opposing team or the match officials.
9- If the referee stops play due to an offense committed by a player, on or off the field, against an outside agent (a substitute, a cheerleader or anyone outside the team line-up on the field), play will be restarted by dropping the ball, unless a free kick is awarded to leave the field without the referee’s permission.
10- Attempts to reduce referees’ mistakes and the turmoil around hand touches continued.
Certainly, not every hand touch is a violation, as it is required to deliberately count the violation, as long as the movement of the hand or arm is natural as a result of the movement of the player’s body, and did not make the body unnaturally larger (by raising it high or to the side for example);
It is never a violation.
The amended law sets criteria for intentionality in two specific points, namely, that the movement of the hand or arm is in the direction of the ball or on its way, or that the size of the body is unjustified by raising the hand or arm clearly high, sideways, in any direction or on the ground.
11- Not to count any goal that resulted from a direct hand touch or immediately after it to the attacking team or goalkeeper, even if it was unintentional, meaning that it went from his hand or arm to the goal directly.
12- The hand touch is not considered intentional, that is, it is not considered a violation in 3 cases:
If the hand or arm is close to the body and the player tries to dodge the ball but fails.
If the hand or arm is far from the body but within the normal range of motion of the hand or arm.
If the ball rebounds from the player's foot or head directly to his hand or arm.
If a player tries to support his body by placing his arm on the ground during a fall and the ball is caught by hand or arm.
13- The amendment that was applied only last season 2020-2021 has been canceled, considering the unintentional handball before the goal was scored immediately as a violation, whether it was from the teammate of the goal holder - that is, the passer - or the maker of the attack that resulted in the goal;
That is, it is not now considered a violation as long as it is not intentional.
14. An indirect free kick is awarded if a player initiates a deliberate ploy to pass the ball (including from a free kick or goal kick) to a goalkeeper with the head, chest, knee, etc. to circumvent the law, regardless of whether the goalkeeper catches the ball or not.
15- A player or goalkeeper who engages in a deliberate feint to circumvent the law and display a yellow card for unsportsmanlike conduct must be cautioned and restarted with an indirect free kick from the place where the player raised the ball up to his head or chest.
Former international referee