History was made during the clash between Tottenham and Burnley as goalkeeper Martin Devravka became the first player to fall into a new rule change in the Premier League
Burnley goalkeeper Martin Dubravka has become the first player in Premier League history against a new rule aimed at reducing time. Dubravka admitted the corner after grabbing the ball for more than eight seconds in a collision with Tottenham.
The new rules are one of several tweaks made this season, instructing the judge to give the goalkeeper a countdown and stop holding the ball before awarding a corner if it cannot be released in time.
This incident occurred early in the game. This was a comfortable 3-0 win thanks to Richarianson’s braces and Brennan Johnson’s goals. The rules change was approved by the IFAB earlier this year and was adopted at the Club World Cup.
After the tournament, head of FIFA judge Pieluigi Collina said:
“The goal was not to give a corner kick, but to prevent the 8-second rule from being ignored. The objective was 100% achieved.”
read more: Howard Webb sends penalty warnings to Premier League players and fans for a new seasonread more: The Premier League will bring about major changes in the opening match in the judge’s trial
And ahead of the new Premier League season, PGMOL boss Howard Webb explained:
“It is intended to be preventative rather than punitive. Like any other sport – if you play tennis at Wimbledon, you need to serve within a few seconds.”
But West Ham vice-president Karen Brady is not a fan of rules changes, but has branded “Daft tinkering” in his column for the Sun. Brady wrote:
“Beat me. It was rarely executed anyway. The body that came up with this latest Daft tinkering meant well-researched brainstorming, the International Football Association’s board of directors.
“Perhaps at a fully abundant five-star hotel somewhere near FIFA’s Swiss Alps headquarters. The purpose of this latest change is to waste time, but how can you extend ownership from 6 seconds to 8 seconds?
“The fact that there were very few “old” rules imposed certainly means that it’s a good rule. A bit like a capable judge if they didn’t know they were there.
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