A few years after the introduction of the video referee, is football facing the next revolution? At its meeting in Doha, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) discussed a possible rule change that would be difficult.
The majority of football fans are usually critical of rule changes. True to the motto “Don’t fix anything that isn’t broken!” they would prefer to leave the sport as it is.
The supporters should now see a proposal from the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which is responsible for changes in football, all the more skeptically. At its meeting in Doha, the IFAB discussed the abolition of the throw-in.
The plan is very simple: instead of a throw-in, there could be a “kick-in”, in which the player puts the ball back into play with his or her foot.
Trainer legend Arsène Wenger had already presented this idea in 2020. “Five minutes before the end of the game, a throw-in should bring an advantage. But in these situations you are facing ten field players while your team only has nine,” he explained his suggestion in “L’Équipe” at the time.
Statistics would show “that in eight out of ten such throw-in situations you lose the ball”. Therefore, there should be the option of a “kick in”. “The goal is to make the game more spectacular and faster. Maybe kick-ins with a time limit of five seconds, for example, could help,” explained Wenger.
FIFA boss does not want to rule out introduction
FIFA boss Gianni Infantino confirmed to the “BBC” that the idea of the “kick in” is actually on the table, but that there are no plans to test it in practice. FIFA is also rather skeptical about some suggestions, said the Swiss cautiously, “but if these suggestions help the game, then we won’t know until we take a close look at them. So we’ll also look at these suggestions.” .
A small consolation for all fans worried about their beloved throw-in: The IFAB has already put forward several proposals in the past. Among other things, the introduction of 30-minute halves, in which the clock is stopped as soon as the ball is still. The aim at the time was to increase the net playing time, which is only around 50 minutes per game. However, this plan was never implemented.