FIFA has made a collection of rule changes lately following the introduction of VAR, giving referees extra discretion in decoding controversial performs. In what might be one other vital shift, FIFA’s head of refereeing, Pierluigi Collina, is reportedly contemplating implementing a game-changing rule that will get rid of penalty rebounds.
Conceding a penalty is among the harshest punishments a workforce can face, as spot kicks are transformed roughly 76% of the time, giving the attacking facet a near-certain scoring alternative. Underneath the brand new proposal, nonetheless, goalkeepers might be rewarded for saving a penalty, with the defending workforce regaining possession instantly after a cease.
Based on BBC Sport, Collina helps the concept of eradicating penalty rebounds throughout open play. His reasoning is that after the attacking workforce fails to transform such a transparent scoring probability, it shouldn’t be allowed a second or third try if the goalkeeper saves the shot or it strikes the publish.
The proposed rule would signify a serious shift in favor of defending groups, who’re already penalized by the awarding of a penalty. If adopted, any rebound from a missed or saved spot kick would lead to play restarting with the goalkeeper in possession, an entire departure from the present system.
Liverpool’s Xabi Alonso scores the third objective towards AC Milan after lacking from the penalty spot.
For the 2025-26 season, the Worldwide Soccer Affiliation Board (IFAB) launched a rule change relating to double touches on penalties, following Julian Álvarez’s controversial disallowed objective within the UEFA Champions League. With the 2026 World Cup on the horizon, it stays to be seen whether or not additional changes will probably be made, notably inside the penalty space.
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Iconic targets that will have been dominated out
Based on the BBC, a mean of slightly below three targets per season are scored from penalty rebounds. Whereas the proposed change won’t drastically alter scoring statistics, it could have erased a few of soccer’s most memorable moments.
A kind of moments can be Xabi Alonso’s rebound objective for Liverpool towards AC Milan within the 2005 Champions League closing, which accomplished their historic comeback. Extra lately, Chloe Kelly’s 119th-minute winner for England towards Italy within the semifinals of Euro 2025, a event the Lionesses went on to win, would even have been disallowed below the brand new rule.
