WASHINGTON, Feb.1, 2012 - FIFA’s rule-making board will take up eight proposals and amendments to the Laws of the Game next month, including allowing a fourth substitution to be used for games that go into extra time.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB), which is made up of FIFA and the soccer associations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, will hold its 126th Annual General Meeting in England on March 3.
The IFAB will also discuss what action the referee should take if a dropped ball is kicked directly into an opponents’ goal and also work on a new text in the Laws to tackle the so-called “triple punishment.” Currently a penalty-kick, expulsion, and player suspension are the three sanctions for a player who denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by an offence punishable, according to Law 12, in the penalty area.
Goal-line technology will also be on the agenda.
There will also be discussions on the “Additional Assistant Referee experiment (AAR) - using additional assistants beside each goal - and allowing Islamic female players to wear a hijab, which is currently banned.
The use of “vanishing spray” by referees at the 2011 Copa America - to mark out the ten yards where defending teams have to stand for a free-kick, which is currently used in MLS, will also be on the agenda.
On another note, it’s just 500 days to go until kick-off of the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013 when the world in Brazil.
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