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Referee Bastian Dankert shows the yellow card (archive photo)
Photo: Jürgen Kessler / dpa
The top football rule keepers want to test the introduction of time penalties for the professionals as well. This was announced by the International Football Association Board (Ifab) on Tuesday after the meeting in London. This would give referees another sanction option in addition to yellow and red cards. According to the report, IFAB members recommended that the trial runs be extended to professional football. So far, time penalties have been tested in lower leagues in England. In Germany, time penalties are used in the amateur sector in some state associations.
According to Ifab member Mark Bullingham, who is also the general manager of the English FA, the rule keepers will make the final decision at their next annual meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, in March. If the recommendation is expected to be accepted, players could be expelled from the field for a certain period of time as early as next season after corresponding rule violations, thus temporarily outnumbering their team. In the English amateur leagues, the time penalty was ten minutes.
Former world-class referee Pierluigi Collina, head of FIFA's referees committee and member of the Ifab's technical subcommittee, called for the introduction of time penalties to be as straightforward as possible. We have to develop something that works and is worthy of top-level football," said the Italian. According to the Ifab statement, time penalties are conceivable for protesting against refereeing decisions and certain tactical offences. Participation in the tests is not mandatory, leagues or associations must register participation.
Respect for referees should be increased
Time penalties for certain types of fouls have long been an integral part of the rules in other sports. In handball as well as ice, field and indoor hockey, for example, the experience with this additional sanction option for referees has been consistently good.
In addition, according to Ifab, it will be tested that in certain situations - similar to rugby - only the team captains are allowed to speak to the referees. These measures are intended to increase respect for the impartial.
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