Premier League chiefs in talks over huge rule change ahead of crunch meeting with football lawmakers

THE Premier League are hoping to introduce a new substitution rule in the near future.

England’s top flight has reportedly penned a letter to football’s lawmakers asking to trial temporary concussion substitutes.

GettyThe Premier League are in talks to introduce temporary concussion substitutions[/caption]

AlamyThe rule would change the way players are assessed after a head injury[/caption]

According to the Mail Online, the Premier League’s chief football officer Tony Scholes wrote to the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to ask for their permission to start the trial.

The Premier League are said to have prepared their own draft protocol to ensure a faster and smoother introduction should IFAB approve the trial.

The proposed rule would see players leave the pitch for 10 minutes to be thoroughly assessed for a concussion when suffering a head injury.

If the player then passes the tests that are carried out they can return to the pitch to continue playing.

The introduction would be change from the current concussion substitution rules in place in the Prem.

Teams are currently allowed two PERMANENT concussion substitutions that do not detract from their tactical changes if a player is deemed to have signs of a concussion.

The proposal has been sent to IFAB ahead of the organisation’s annual general meeting which will take place in Scotland on Saturday.

The Premier League have reportedly pointed towards player welfare as a main factor for the proposed change and have collaborated with the PFA, FIFPro and the World Leagues Forum in their approach.

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There had already been widespread suggestion of new rules being trialled in English football with the highly-criticised blue card proposition that was leaked last month.

However Fifa president Gianni infantino has already rubbished the idea of introducing blue cards to the top level of the sport.

Blue Murder

By Martin Lipton

IT’S a sin for football to allow cynical cheats to get away with it.

So introducing ten-minute sin-bins would be a big step forward for the game.

In truth, it does not matter what card the referee shows – blue, green or pink.

What matters is that, if the trial – which will not include the Prem or EFL at this stage – is a success, then it could become part of top tier professional football by the end of the decade.

The argument is simple: Nobody likes what Fifa refs’ chief Pierluigi Collina describes as “anti-football action”.

That is a deliberate, cynical act to stop a potential break by fouling a rival with absolutely no attempt to play the ball.

If teams who do that have to spend the last 10 minutes of a game a man short, they could pay a real price, rather than just picking up a yellow card and “taking one for the team”.

Sin bins for dissent might be a tougher argument to progress, although it might just give refs some respect back.

But having players sat by the side of the pitch, powerless as their man-short side concedes a last-gasp winner, might actually change the way players behave. And it will be a statement of intent.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s IFAB meeting, he said: “If you want a headline, it’s the red card to blue cards. No way.

“There will not be any blue cards used at elite level. This is a topic that is non existent for us. Fifa is completely opposed to blue cards.”

However the idea of sin-bins still still remains a very real possibility for the beautiful game with a global trial almost certain to be approved for dissent – starting at semi-professional level.

Although it isn’t clear if the sin-bins will be used for cynical fouls as had been originally suggested.

The idea is set to be debated in Saturday’s meeting with a number of big name Fifa representatives set to be in attendance including Infantino and Arsene Wenger.

Another topic set to be up for discussion is a push for extended VAR coverage, led by iconic ex-referee Pierluigi Collina.

The proposition would see VAR be able to intervene for corners, free-kicks and second yellow cards – although it is understood to be less likely to be backed.

And there has been a revision of the idea that time-wasting by goalkeepers should be punished with the award of a corner.

Many have deemed this to be too harsh of a punishment and are instead proposing that the other team would be given the ball for a throw-in level with the edge of the box.

IFAB are also expected to endorse two new law changes from next season.

All deliberate handball offences by defensive players in their own box will be punishable with dismissal from next term, while the ball must overhang the centre of the spot for penalty kicks.

GettySin-bins may be used for dissent going forward[/caption]

ReutersThere are talks over increasing the scope of VAR intervention[/caption]

GettyThe ball may have to overhang the centre of the penalty spot for spot-kicks next season[/caption]