126th Annual General Meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB)

The 126th Annual General Meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) will take place on Saturday 3 March under the chairmanship of The Football Association in Surrey, England.

On the agenda this year are eight proposals and amendments to the Laws of the Game. These include a proposal for a fourth substitution to be allowed for matches that go into extra time; a new text to clarify what action the referee should take if a dropped ball is kicked directly into an opponents’ goal; and a new text to tackle the ‘so-called’ Triple Punishment, following the recommendation by the FIFA Task Force Football 2014.

Currently a penalty-kick, expulsion, and player suspension are the three sanctions for a player who denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by an offence punishable, according to Law 12, in the penalty area.

Also on the agenda for discussion is an update on the Goal-Line Technology (GLT) testing. The independent test institute EMPA will provide a report on the first test phase held between November and December 2011 with eight GLT companies, as well as outlining the procedures for Phase 2 scheduled between March and June 2012.

An update on the Additional Assistant Referee experiment (AAR), a discussion regarding the Hijab following a football seminar in Amman in October 2011, and more information regarding the use of Vanishing Spray by referees at the CONMEBOL 2011 Copa America – to mark out the 9.15m (10 yards) where defending teams have to stand for a free-kick – are also on the agenda, amongst other topics.

Finally, the members will be asked to confirm the date of the Special Meeting of the IFAB as 2 July 2012, where a definitive decision on the future of Goal-Line Technology and Additional Assistant Referees will be taken.