One of the most frustrating things about football could be outlawed in four new rule trials

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Martin Macdonald | Writer

Content writer covering football, formula 1 and movies

As a player, fan, or manager, there's nothing more frustrating than deliberate time-wasting by an opponent.

And, over the last couple of seasons, we've seen a cynical rise in the number of occasions a goalkeeper goes down with a supposed injury only for his team-mates to use that opportunity to regroup either by rehydrating or receiving tactical instructions from their manager.

It's become known as the 'tactical timeout' and it happened again this past weekend as Chelsea's Robert Sanchez went down with an injury in the FA Cup semi-final against Leeds. As soon as the referee stopped play to allow for treatment, all the other Chelsea players ran over to the side of the pitch to receive instructions from interim boss Calum McFarlane.

Everyone knew exactly what Chelsea were doing but referee Jarred Gillett was ultimately powerless as the rules state goalkeepers must receive treatment on the pitch if they claim to be injured, which results in the stoppage of play.

The Leeds fans booed and Ethan Ampadu even attempted to stand inside the Chelsea huddle to prevent the mini tactics meeting.

The rise of incidents with goalkeepers has come about after a rule was introduced that forced outfield players to leave the pitch for at least 30 seconds after receiving treatment. Managers simply told their goalkeepers to go down instead.

After the tactical break, the keepers miraculously get back to their feet.

It happened to Leeds earlier this season, too, as manager Daniel Farke accused Man City stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma of "bending the rules" by going down injured as City enjoyed a break while the Yorkshire side were enjoying a positive period of play.

The International Football Association Board (Ifab) is launching four trials starting next season in the Women's Super League to try and combat the issue, reports the BBC.

Trial one: Take an outfield player off for one minute

At the moment, a player must go off for 30 seconds if they receive treatment on the pitch.

This could be increased to one minute and, crucially, if it is a goalkeeper who receives treatment, one of his team-mates will be sacrificed to leave the pitch for at least 60 seconds.

The identity of the player who goes off could be decided by the manager or at the referee's discretion.

Trial two: Increase the time off the field to two minutes

There are some who believe Trial One is not enough of a deterrent as managers may take the 60-second hit in order to reshape their team or give their players a short rest even if they go temporarily down to 10 men.

That's why Trial Two would see the time spent off the field rise to two minutes for any outfield player who receives treatment.

There are concerns that legitimately injured players may not ask for treatment if they are forced to go off for two minutes, however.

Trial three: No players can approach the technical area

This seems like the most simple solution: if a goalkeeper goes down injured, no players are allowed to approach the technical area to speak to their manager.

This has already been introduced in The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in the United States and Canada. Without Ifab, they introduced new rules which state, if a goalkeeper is injured, players must:

- Remain in the area where they were located when play was stopped

- Or, gather on their team's side of the centre-circle

- If players approach the technical area, the team and/or coach may be subject to league discipline

Though this solution works for not allowing a tactics meeting, it does not solve the problem of teams looking to stop the momentum of their opponents.

Trial four: The hybrid model

A hybrid of Trial One and Trial Three, an outfield player will be forced off for at least one minute and all the players are not allowed to approach the technical area.

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