60-minute matches? IFAB proposes radical changes to football

Football matches could move to 30-minute halves and referees could stop the clock at various points if the International Football Association Board's swath of radical changes gets approval.

In a recent document entitled "Fair Play," the IFAB, which is in close association with FIFA and Britain's four governing bodies, argued for fairer laws to cancel out time-wasting and improve player behaviour.

IFAB would also like to see more flowing play, calling for free-kicks to be taken while the ball is still moving and goal kicks to be played to teammates within the penalty area.

But the most controversial suggestion is the prospect of stopping and starting each half at 30 minutes of Effective Playing Time.

"Such a radical change would not only mean that there would be less point in players wasting time, but would also mean that in a competition every club would play exactly the same amount of EPT," the document read.

A match official would then have the opportunity to stop his watch in the following situations:

• From the moment a penalty is awarded until it is taken
• From the moment a goal is scored until the match resumes play
• From the moment a player requires treatment until the match resumes play
• From the moment the referee shows a yellow or red card until the match resumes play
• From the point of substitution until the start of play
• From the moment the referee aligns a free-kick until it is taken

Among the other proposals are harsher sanctions, including potential points deductions for players who crowd the referee, and a penalty for instances in which a goalkeeper handles a deliberate back pass. A player could also pass the ball to himself after taking a free-kick, corner kick, or goal kick.

To eliminate encroachment on penalty kicks, the IFAB is considering restricting the outcomes of spot-kicks, meaning a goal or save would end the play.

Most of these proposals would require law changes, according to the document. Several more meetings are necessary to determine whether to reject or implement these new ideas.