The mission of The International Football Association Board (The IFAB) is to serve the world of football as the independent guardian of the Laws of the Game. Now that our own league has started this is a great opportunity for us to familiarize ourselves with the new IFAB regulations.
1) Yellow card not red if player commits Denial of an Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity inside area if foul was attempt to play ball
2) Refs can now show red cards to players before kick-off for, say, fighting in the tunnel. (Can be replaced, so teams start with 11).
3) IFAB may in the future debate changes to hand-ball laws, including on the line (Suarez v Ghana) which could be punished with a penalty goal.
4) Players who feint when taking penalty now punished with yellow card & indirect free-kick. No retake. Stuttering runs still allowed
5) Injured player can get treatment on pitch for up to 20 seconds & stay on, i.e. not have to go to touchline & await ref’s nod to come back on
6) Player accidentally losing boot allowed to “continue playing until play next stops”. Under-shorts must be same colour as shorts – or the hem
7) IFAB: “At kick-off, the ball can now be kicked in any direction, including backwards so no team-mates allowed to stand in opponents’ half”
8) IFAB on throw-ins: “The ball must be thrown with BOTH hands and not thrown with one hand and ‘guided’ with the other’.
9) Water breaks permissible in “very hot/humid conditions”
