Video assistance for match officials, sin bins and temporary substitutions will be debated at next month’s International Football Association Board (IFAB) Annual Business Meeting (ABM).
The AMB takes place on 7 January and will act as a preparatory meeting for the body’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in March 2016 - the only setting in which the Laws of the Game can be made or amended.
IFAB, the independent body responsible for debating, defining and amending the laws since 1886, will discuss the merits of rugby-style video referees following talks with its two advisory panels - the Football Advisory Panel and the Technical Advisory Panel - during bi-annual meetings earlier this year.
The body has been working on “potential scenarios and clear protocols” for testing the technology.
Feedback from the advisory panels will also inform IFAB’s discussions regarding the possibility of adopting the use of sin bins, introducing fourth substitutes in extra time or temporary substitutions for injuries, and scrapping ‘triple punishment’ - the situation in which a player is sent off after conceding a penalty.
The ABM will look at the “complete revision” of the Laws of the Game in terms of structure, layout, terminology, phrasing and consistency with the aim of making them easier to understand. The accepted format will be included in the 2016/17 edition of the laws, subject to AGM approval.
In addition, the IFAB will receive an update on the ongoing process to introduce a FIFA Quality Programme for electronic performance and tracking systems, and will also discuss referee hand signals and the unsporting behaviour of players and coaches on and off the field of play.
Jonathan Ford, chief executive of the Football Association of Wales, will chair the Cardiff-based ABM, as well as the 130th AGM between 4 and 6 March 2016.
