5 hours Ago By Daniel Hepburn
Former referee Howard Webb, now chief refereeing officer of PGMOL, has revealed that Premier League 2 are trialling a new corner kick rule which is attempting to tackle incidents of goalkeepers wasting time by holding on to the ball for too long. GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Webb refereed 296 Premier League matches between 2003 and 2014. Before the 2024/25 season got underway, an alteration to the Premier League 2’s rulebook stated that a corner kick is given to the opposition team if the goalkeeper holds onto the ball for longer than eight seconds – and Webb has now explained the rule’s finer details.
Webb Reveals Radical Move to Prevent Time-Wasting On the latest episode of Gary Neville ’s Stick to Football, Webb was present to discuss all things officiating – from the standard of VAR in the top flight to new initiatives to crack down on problems such as time-wasting. In conjunction with the International Football Association Board (IFAB), PGMOL has introduced a rule to prevent teams from time-wasting in the hands of their respective shot stoppers. Corner kicks will be awarded to opposition teams if the goalkeeper holds onto the ball for in excess of eight seconds.
The corner kick will be taken from the side of the field of play closest to where the ‘keeper was stationed when penalised by the official. Webb, at 23:21 in the video, revealed: “In Premier League 2, they’re trialing something around the goalkeeper holding the ball for more than six seconds. If they hold it for eight, and don’t release it, it goes to a corner to the other team.
Think you know everything about football? A question asked on The Chase about a strange rule could still catch you out Webb insisted that, after three seconds, officials are able to use a raised hand to clearly show the countdown from five seconds to zero. If a goalkeeper is 'daft enough' to ignore the gesture, the 53-year-old has suggested it would result in a corner. “After three seconds, the referee counts down, and if the goalkeeper is daft enough to hold onto it, it’ll be a corner.
That avoids the ridiculous situation where you have an indirect free kick in the six-yard box, and players are chasing out.” Podcast host Neville, formerly of Manchester United and England , was a big supporter of the idea and its integration into Premier League life, saying: “I like that. I think we all like that.
” He also insisted that goalkeepers getting away with time-wasting drives him 'crazy'..
