By:Mark Schaub/Ren Xiaolei/David Hong
The Laws of the Game are the rules that must be followed in all levels of football matches. The first widely applicable Laws of the Game were drawn up in 1863. The International Football Association Board (IFAB), founded in 1886, was recognized by the International Football Federation in 1904 as the responsible body for formulating and promulgating the Laws of the Game. The Laws of the Game have been revised many times, and the 2016/17 revision of the Laws of the Game started the most far-reaching and comprehensive period of Law adjustment in the history of the IFAB. In March 2018, IFAB approved the most important change of Laws in the history of football – the use of video assistant referees.In order to make the Laws of the Game clearer, IFAB has not stopped revolution. After nearly two years of global testing, IFAB held its 133rd annual meeting in Aberdeen, Scotland on March 2, 2019, and approved the revision of the Laws of the Game 2019/20 (“New Laws”)
The main provisions of the Laws of the Game have been changed from the following aspects:
- To regulate the player’s behavior
Section | Original Law | New Law | Comments |
Law 03 – The Players |
To replace a player with a substitute, the following must be observed: l the referee must be informed before any substitution is made l The player being substituted receives the referee’s permission to leave the field of play, unless already off the field l The player being replaced is not obliged to leave at the halfway line l If a player who is to be replaced refuses to leave, play continues |
To replace a player with a substitute, the following must be observed: l the referee must be informed before any substitution is made l The player being substituted: Ø receives the referee’s permission to leave the field of play, unless already off the field, and must leave by the nearest point on the boundary line unless the referee indicates that the player may leave directly and immediately at the halfway line or another point (e.g. for safety/security or injury) Ø Must go immediately to the technical area or dressing room l If a player who is to be substituted refuses to leave, play continues |
It is often seen in a match that when the leading team makes substitution at the end of the match, the player to be substituted, whether at the bottom line or at another boundary line, will slowly cross the whole field to reach the position of substitution, in order to achieve the purpose of wasting time. This is not conducive to the fluency of the game, and will also cause the disputes and conflicts with the other team lagging behind. The New Laws have been amended to indicate that the substituted player must leave by the nearest point on the boundary line and must go immediately to the technical area of dressing room, unless there is any special reason (for safety or injury). It will be helpful to reduce the player’s behavior of wasting time, increase the net game time and improve the game’s brilliance. |
Law 13 – Free Kicks |
None |
Where three or more defending team players form a ‘wall’, all attacking team players must remain at least 1 m from the ‘wall’. |
In recent years, many teams have designed new and complex tactics on free kicks to improve the chances of scoring. Among them, it is most common for the attacking team to arrange for players to interfere with or in the ‘wall’ of the defending team, but may cause additional conflicts due to the preemption of the position, which will affect the progress of the game. Under the New Laws, it will be difficult for the attacking team to arrange for the interference tactics, which may reduce the possibility of additional disputes with the defending team. |
- To protect the fairness of the game
Section | Original Law | New Law | Comments |
Law 08 – The Start and Restart of Play
Law 09 – The Ball in and out of Play |
None |
When the ball touches a match official, remains on the field of play and:
l A team starts a promising attack; or l The ball goes directly into the goal; or l The team in possession of the ball changes, The ball is out of play and play is restarted with a dropped ball for one player of the team that last touched the ball at the position where it last touched a match official. |
There are occasions when the ball accidentally hits the referee in passing and shooting by one team, which leads to the change in possession of the ball and even directly result in the goal. In the original Laws, the game shall continue and the goal is effective. Though the affected team is dissatisfied, it has to suffer a hidden loss. Under the New Laws, this situation will lead to the suspension of the game and play is restarted with a dropped ball, which safeguards the interests of the affected team, avoids the unexpected influence of the referee on the course of the game and protects the fairness of the game. |
- To maintain the authority of the referee
Section | Original Law | New Law | Comments |
Law 05 – The Referee | The referee takes action against team officials who fail to act in a responsible manner and may expel them from the field of play and its immediate surrounds. | The referee takes action against team officials who fail to act in a responsible manner and warns or shows a yellow card for a caution or a red card for a sending-off from the field of play and its immediate surrounds, including the technical area; if the offender cannot be identified, the senior coach present in the technical area will receive the sanction. | The New Laws provide a clear basis for referees to punish team officials with red and yellow cards for misconduct. Especially in some cases (such as large-scale conflicts between two teams) where it is impossible to identify specific offenders, the senior coach present in the technical area will receive the sanction, which is conducive to maintain the authority of the referee. |
- To clarify controversial issues/apply new Laws
Section | Original Law | New Law | Comments |
Law 12 – Fouls and Misconduct |
Handling the ball involves a deliberate act of a player making contact with the ball with the hand or arm. The following must be considered: l the movement of the hand towards the ball (not the ball towards the hand) l the distance between the opponent and the ball (unexpected ball) l the position of the hand does not necessarily mean that there is an offence |
It is an offence if a player: l deliberately touches the ball with their hand/arm, including moving the hand/arm towards the ball l gains possession/control of the ball after it has touched their hand/arm and then: Ø scores in the opponents’ goal Ø creates a goal-scoring opportunity l scores in the opponents’ goal directly from their hand/arm, even if accidental, including by the goalkeeper It is usually an offence if a player: l touches the ball with their hand/arm when: Ø the hand/arm has made their body unnaturally bigger Ø the hand/arm is above/beyond their shoulder level (unless the player deliberately plays the ball which then touches their hand/arm) It is not usually an offence if the ball touches a player’s hand/arm: l directly from the player’s own head or body (including the foot) l directly from the head or body (including the foot) of another player who is close l if the hand/arm is close to the body and does not make the body unnaturally bigger l when a player falls and the hand/arm is between the body and the ground to support the body, but not extended laterally or vertically away from the body |
The identification of the handball offence has always been the most controversial issue in football matches. In the previous version of the Laws of the Game, the determination of the handball offence was focused on “intent” and emphasized subjective intention. But in practice, it is difficult to judge whether “hand moves towards ball” or “ball moves towards hand” in many cases, so there is more confusion occurring. Even for the “unintentional” handball, if it directly causes one score, it damages the fairness of the game to some extent. The New Laws adjust the focus of determining handball offence from “intention” to “result”, and pay more attention to the impact of handball offence. The basic principle is that the handball, whether deliberately or unintentionally, is usually regarded as an offence if it gains inappropriate benefits, which reduces the possibility of disputes regarding the referee’s determination. |
Law 14 – The Penalty Kick | None | When the ball is kicked, the defending goalkeeper must have at least part of one foot touching, or in line with, the goal line. | Under the New Laws, the principle that the goalkeeper must not move ahead in penalty kick is abolished. Since the criterion of determining the handball offence is loosen (the probability of penalty kick increases), the increase of the difficulty of penalty kick will balance the game to a certain extent. |
The New Laws came into effect on June 1, 2019. The Chinese Football Association has also issued a notice to apply the New Laws to the Chinese football leagues at all levels since June 13, 2019. We have noticed that in the latest round of the Chinese Super League over the previous weekend, the teams and even the referees are still in a process of familiarizing themselves with the New Laws, and whether the penalty kick shall be granted due to handball offence has also aroused some controversy in several matches. Although the impact of the New Laws on the competition needs further observation, generally speaking, we believe that the New Laws are conducive to the protection of the principle of “Fair Play”. After the run-in period, the New Laws are able to play a positive role in reducing disputes and increasing the viewing performance of the matches.
Note: The Chinese wording of the relevant provisions in the Laws of the Game as referred to in this article is just used for comments, which shall not be deemed as a formal translation of the Laws of the Game.