Throw-ins targeted as football lawmakers to debate time-wasting rules

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Extending VAR’s reach, potentially to cover second yellow cards, could be discussed at a meeting of football’s lawmakers on Tuesday. Replays showed minimal contact between Hezze’s arm and Casado’s face as the pair challenged for the ball, but the Barca player’s reaction convinced Swiss referee Urs Schnyder to issue a second yellow.

The PA news agency understands there have been debates around the inclusion of second yellow cards since ‘day one’ of VAR’s introduction, but there have been – and remain – concerns around whether extending the protocol may change referee behaviour in awarding first or second yellow cards. Panellists are set to be updated on trials of the ‘daylight’ offside law – where an attacker is onside if any part of his body that can score is level with the second-last defender.

Panellists will be asked to take a step back and have a discussion on what the issues are around the offside law that football would want any law change to solve – would the change aim to cut out ‘marginal’ offsides, or to promote attacking play, for instance. There is acceptance that care must be taken not to change the law purely for the benefit of top-level football, where VAR is in use, and that it must be applicable and understandable all the way down to grassroots.