A new edition of the laws of the great game has been released.

A new version of the rules has been introduced

IN RFS extension presented the official translation of the football rules for the new season. They went into effect on July 1, 2023. Changes were made to seven different rules at the same time. No global solution yet Fifa about how offside will be called in football. There is heated debate as Wenger proposes a dangerous experiment for no-replay matches. But they have adopted amendments based on World Cup events.

And also the clarifications that were needed after the gross refereeing errors in world football last season. It goes without saying that the rules of football, which were first written in 1863 and now consist of only 17 points, need to be changed. IN Fifa they are in no hurry to fix all the blind spots, because they need to do something in the future, looking for inconsistencies that have long been clear to everyone. But the rules of the game of the hand, as well as the arguments for imposing certain punishments, were actively changing. Offsides will be dealt with first world Cup-2026, it is possible that the World Cup will be a completely different kind of football. In the meantime, get to know the changes this summer.

“Martinez Rule” in the common law

Two rules simultaneously influenced the behavior of Emiliano Martinez in the penalty shoot-out in recent years. If in the America’s Cup he was forgiven for the moral pressure on his opponents, then after the playoffs world Cup and in a penalty shootout, goalkeepers are prohibited from “disrespecting the game and the opponent, i.e. unfairly distracting the player taking the penalty kick – this is Law 14. A similar remark is found in Law 12, which deals with unruly behavior. The law reads like this:

The defending team’s goalkeeper must remain on the goal line between the posts facing the kicker until the kick has been taken. The goalkeeper must not unduly distract the player taking the kick, such as delaying the kick or touching the posts, crossbar or net.

Fuzzy, weak and incomprehensible wording. The goalkeeper must not touch the posts, the crossbar and the net, but what does “unfairly distract” mean? Are there honest methods of distraction? If so, why not say you can’t do something specific, talk to the footballer and dance on the line. Have they again left the judges the right to punish some goalkeepers at their discretion, while other goalkeepers will be able to jump along the line, wave their arms and so on?

And if there are bans, then why is dancing on the goal line “a dishonest picture of distraction”? Then a long run with a break even before the swing is also a way to piss off the goalkeeper. You can go as far as trying to change a rule that has been working for so long. Except that the judges ignored Martinez’s verbal abuse of opponents, even though he could be punished for unsporting behavior with a yellow card. It’s like a goalkeeper jumping off the line before hitting. For years they have closed their eyes, only recently are they taking a closer look.

Promoted to reserve assistant referee

See Law 3 “Players” for clarification. Refers to the rush of footballers onto the pitch when a goal is scored, such as in the final world Cup-2022. Added the phrase “and this person interfered in the game.” Referees are discouraged from issuing yellow cards for runs up the pitch after goals unless they have influenced play. That’s right, because they can celebrate dances in a crowd right on the field. And in Rule 6, the addition concerns the backup assistant referee. Now they have the right to address violations when they have a clearer understanding of the incident.

Why did they miss this moment, if the reserve assistant referees could have been in the center of events earlier, for example, on the bench? As usual, we learn about it every year in Fifa AND Uefa, where two former lawyers are presidents, there was not enough political will to hire a band of specialists to subtract every letter from the rules and remove such ridiculous inconsistencies. Don’t be surprised if officials were surprised by the Spanish referees’ incomprehensible entrances, but there is no reaction. Well, at least the rules have changed, for example, about the duration of the match. Referees now keep track of time spent celebrating goals. Previously, this delay was mentioned in “any other reason”, and now the referee is invited to monitor the time and add it.

Added “deliberate play” explanations

There are many small changes in the laws. For example, they replaced the phrase “penalty shoot-out” with the usual phrase “penalty shoot-outs”. But there is a big change. Rule 11 Offside defines what counts as intentional play of the ball if the player then has the ball in a passive offside position. And there is an amendment that will lead to scandals. Among the criteria that should help the referee determine whether there was intentional ball play include:

The player has had time to coordinate their body movements, which means their actions (stretching, jumping, or a move that resulted in a contract or incomplete check) are not instinctive.

Now try to prove that any sudden movement towards the ball is not instinctive, but coordinated. What is “instinct”? Additional explanations should simplify the referee’s work, and now in some cases the defender will unsuccessfully play the ball and fly to the attacker in a passive offside position – he will score a goal, it will be counted, and in another similar episode they will say that this is an instinctive movement, i.e. a rebound and an offside.

It is also important that if the deliberate attempt to play the ball was unsuccessful, this does not deprive the right to continue the game from the offside passive attacker. And the last important change: the recommendations sent to the referees Uefa not show a yellow card for handball when shooting on goal, unless it is a clear attempt to kick the ball with the hands from the goal line. Or not about a deliberate attempt to interrupt the pass with one hand in a promising attack.

In principle, most of the changes are logical. Even if it infuriates the transformation of rule editing into a show. IN Fifa drag the process for years to appear as Santa Claus every time. It should have long been excluded from the rules all sharp corners on which justice will be wound. To serve the judiciary only in RPL 600 million rubles are spent per season, and it would be better if the 17th team in the championship worked efficiently, having learned all the amendments to the rules of football.