Exclusive: Ex-PGMOL boss fears law change issues after surprising Rangers incident
Keith Hackett has identified a potential problem with a new law change that is set to be introduced in a bid to reduce time wasting from next season.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that IFAB plans to award corners awarded for goalkeepers time wasting may actually take even longer out of the game than what they are meant to prevent.
According to current rules, a goalkeeper who keeps possession of the ball in his hands for more than six seconds is punished with an indirect free kick inside his area.
But a blanket failure to apply that rule means a new one will be introduced from the start of the 2025/26 season, when any goalkeeper who holds the ball for eight seconds will automatically concede a corner.
In the wake of an incident in the latest match to involve Rangers, Hackett believes that law change could create an issue by itself.
| Rangers last five games | Result |
| Motherwell (H) | Lost 2-1 |
| Fenerbahce (A) | Won 3-1 |
| Fenerbahce (H) | Lost 2-0 (won 3-2 on penalties) |
| Celtic (A) | Won 3-2 |
| Dundee (A) | Won 4-3 |
Rangers controversy highlights rule change concern
On Saturday (29 March) Rangers won a thrilling Scottish Premiership clash with Dundee by a 4-3 scoreline at Dens Park.
Barry Ferguson‘s side had been forced to come from 2-0 and 3-1 down in that game to eventually claim the win late on.
Hackett had been surprised after Dundee’s opening goal against Rangers was allowed to stand, as replays showed Joe Shaughnessy pull down Mohamed Diomande in front of goalscorer Simon Murray, with the former referee amazed there hadn’t been more of a protest.
Given such incidents involving pushing inside the area are often so commonplace, and disputes are so often forced to be settled by the officials, Hackett believes this now highlights that corners will still take time out of the game, even when punishing time-wasting.
Keith Hackett sends warning over new rule change
That opening goal for Dundee highlighted inconsistencies with how grappling inside the area from corner are dealt with, and Hackett told Football Insider:
“Next year, the law will change on goalkeeper possession. Once the goalkeeper has the ball in his hands, at the moment it’s six seconds, never ever penalised.
“But now, the IFAB are saying it’s going to eight seconds, the referee will hold his hand in the air and countdown from five…
“In that situation the crowd are going to start chanting ‘five, four, three, two, one’ so now you’re going to get goalkeepers penalised.
“You’re going to get an attacking team standing on the goalkeeper, to prevent him from releasing the ball so that’s the scenario that’s now going to face us next season.
“The result of an offence is now penalised with a corner kick. So the aim is to stop time wasting and then what they do is award a corner kick where we know that there’s holding, pulling, shoving and the first thing that the referee does, he goes in, starts talking to the players, and the time’s gone.
“I know you’re supposed to add time on but they don’t. So here’s a law change that will be enforced, certainly in the opening six weeks of the season, it applies to all levels of the game so even in the junior games in the park it’s the same.
“It’s aimed at saving time but I think actually with a corner award we go through the scenario of:
“‘Ball in a quadrant? No, let’s have a look at that, they’re holding and pulling in the penalty area no let’s stop that, and then we have a corner kick'”
With the amount of time that process will take, it may mean that the corner awarded for time wasting may consume more time than a goalkeeper would keep the ball in his hands for.