Ifab to consider goal-line technology

The 126th Ifab meeting in Bagshot, Surrey, will also debate the so-called “triple punishment” which is considered too severe for a player stopping a goalscoring opportunity as sanctions can include a penalty, a red card and a suspension. Another item on the agenda concerns the “vanishing spray” used at last year’s Copa America where referees use a spray on the grass to mark the ten yards defenders must retreat at free kicks, with the line vanishing after a few seconds. IFAB will hear a proposal that increasing the current quota from three to four substitutes over 120 minutes when matches go to extra time would help improve games and reduce injuries.

As the proposal comes from the Task Force and has been proposed by FIFA, it is unlikely to be blocked in a vote of the board which comprises four representatives from the world governing body and four from the British nations of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

Any amendment to the laws needs a majority of six votes to be passed. The board will also review the latest tests on goal-line technology, an issue which has been a feature of its meetings for the best part of a decade although the debate appears now to be moving to some kind of resolution. The board will consider progress reports following tests involving eight systems, and decide which will proceed to a scheduled second round of testing starting in March and ending in June.

Prince Ali of Jordan, the youngest member of Fifa’s executive committee, will present a case to Ifab to lift its ban and allow Muslim female players to wear the hijab, or Islamic headscarf, five years after it banned it for safety reasons. The board will also define exactly what action a referee should take if a dropped ball is kicked directly into goal after a stoppage.