FIFA’s Referees Committee Chairman, Pierluigi Collina, announced the implementation of a new “revolutionary” rule during the 2025 Arab Cup.
Qatar will host the Arab tournament for the second consecutive time, starting on December 1st and lasting for two weeks, with prize money exceeding $30 million.
According to Collina, the international tournament will be an opportunity to test a new legal concept aimed at reducing time-wasting.
Collina explained, “We want to try a new rule, which is that players should only receive treatment when they are genuinely injured, not when they feign injury. Therefore, we are considering allowing a player to leave the field for two minutes if the medical staff enters the area.”
He added, “The only exceptions to a player leaving the field after the medical staff enters are if they are genuinely injured, or if the player they tackled has received a yellow card or been sent off. And of course, goalkeepers will not be allowed to leave the field for two minutes.”
This idea represents an extension of recent FIFA rules aimed at increasing actual playing time, the latest of which was that the goalkeeper cannot hold the ball for more than 8 seconds, otherwise a corner kick will be awarded against him.
