Major rule change being introduced to League of Ireland this week

Surely a few will be caught out by this...

Due to new laws being introduced by IFAB, the international body for the laws of football, a corner kick will be awarded if a goalkeeper controls the ball for longer than eight seconds in their hands.

To avoid confusion, referees will visually count down the final five seconds with a raised hand so goalkeepers are aware they need to release the ball.

It replaces the old rule that penalised goalkeepers for holding the ball longer than six seconds with an indirect free kick.

The law is currently being used in the Club World Cup, having previously been trialled in Premier League 2 and some tournaments in Italy and Malta.

"You can see it has a significant impact on goalkeeper behaviour," Patrick Nelson, the chief executive of the Irish Football Association and an IFAB director, said in March. "It has been a bane of many people's lives for quite some time."

The Premier League will also introduced the new rule for the 2025/26 season, kicking off on August 15th.

There are four League of Ireland matches on Friday, with Drogheda v Galway, Shelbourne v Cork City, Derry City v Waterford and St Pat’s v Bohemians, all kicking off at 7.45pm. Sligo Rovers take on Shamrock Rovers at 7.45pm on Saturday.