International representatives have met in Northern Ireland today for the International Football Association Board (IFAB) Annual General Meeting, with a whole host of changes to The Laws of The Game up for discussion.
IFAB, who have been determining The Laws of The Game since way back in 1886, have confirmed that they plan to introduce changes, particularly to the handball rule.
It has been discussed that plans are in place to change certain criteria for for the current handball rule, with the main one being that plans are set for a new rule to be brought in that allows an official to differentiate the difference between a player handling the ball with either his/her arm or their shoulder.
As well as the handball rule being up for discussion this morning, alterations to the offside rule were also discussed, as the IFAB have agreed to consult to explore changes to the offside rule in order to foster the spirit of attacking play.
As well as handball and offside being up for discussion in Belfast this morning, VAR was also a hot topic. Members of the IFAB board were updated on the current progress of VAR, highlighting the success of the innovation, while also considering the changes that can be made in order to improve its purpose in the future.
The gathered members also agreed on the importance of finding solutions to allow competitions with restricted budgets to be able to access and use VARs, with such solutions being led by the working group for innovation excellence that has been established by FIFA.
