English football could introduce a new law as soon as this weekend to prevent goalkeepers from feigning injury and forcing tactical timeouts. The rule change aims to stop the increasingly common practice of keepers going down supposedly injured, stopping play and allowing teams to regroup.
How the new law would work
According to BBC Sport, if a referee signals for a physio to treat a goalkeeper, the manager must nominate an outfield player to leave the pitch for one minute. If no player is chosen within 10 seconds, the captain is automatically selected. Currently, when an outfield player receives treatment, they must wait on the sidelines until the referee allows them to return, but goalkeepers have exploited the rule to break the flow of the game.
The Football Association, Premier League, English Football League, National League and Women's Super League have agreed to the trial. However, permission is still needed from the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which earlier this year declined to change the law but invited leagues to volunteer for trials.
Possible first use this weekend
If approved, the law could be seen for the first time during Saturday's Carabao Cup preliminary round tie between Tranmere Rovers and Rochdale at Prenton Park.
In November, Leeds United manager Daniel Farke accused Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma of feigning injury to 'bend the rules' during their match at the Etihad Stadium. "Everyone knows why he went down," Farke said after the game. "It is not the elephant in the room. Why he went down it was obvious. It is within the rules. It is smart. If I like it? If it's within the sense of fair play?"
Farke added: "If it should be like this I will keep to myself. It is up to the authorities to find a solution. I ask the fourth official at this point if you want to do something. Our hands are tied. If we don't educate our players in football what to do in terms of fair play and sportsmanship and whatever and if we just try to bend the rules and even do a fake injury in order to do an additional team talk, it is not what I like personally. But if it is within the rules I can't complain."
