To the national associations
of FIFA
________________________
Circular n° 750
Zurich, 10 April 2001
GS/gcu
Dear General Secretary,
The 115th Annual Meeting of the International Football Association Board
was held in Edinburgh, Scotland on 10th March 2001. The amendments to the Laws
of the Game and various instructions and directives are listed below.
1. AMENDMENTS TO THE LAWS OF THE GAME
New text:
Modifications
Subject to the agreement of the nationals associations concerned and
provided the principles of these Laws are maintained, the Laws may be modified
in their application for matches for players of under 16 years of age, for
women footballers, for veteran footballers (over 35 years) and for players with
disabilities.
Reason:
This change recognises the large number of players with disabilities who
play football and permits appropriate modifications to the Laws to enable them to
take part in officially organised competitions.
New text:
Decision 2
A team official may convey tactical instructions to the players during
the match and must return to his position after doing so. All team officials
must remain within the confines of the technical area, where such an area is
provided, and they must behave in a responsible manner.
Reason:
The new text
recognises that tactical instructions may be given by different team officials
during the match provided the person returns to his or her position after
giving these instructions and behaves in a responsible manner. The statement
that the team official must return immediately to his or her position has been
removed.
New text:
Indirect free kick
Delete bullet point 5
·
wastes
time
Decision 3
Delete the final paragraph:
The goalkeeper is considered to be guilty of time-wasting if he holds the
ball in his hands or arms for more than 5-6 seconds.
Reason:
Both texts are no longer necessary because of the alteration to Law 12
in 2000 which stated that a goalkeeper is permitted to control the ball with
his hands or arms for up to six seconds
New text:
Only a player or substitute or substituted player may be shown the red
or yellow card.
Reason:
This clarifies the use of the red and yellow cards.
To be added after Sending Off Offence No.7:
A player who has been sent off must leave the vicinity of the field of
play and the technical area.
Reason:
This clarifies the situation for players who have been sent off.
Decision 1
Delete. The decisions 2 to 6 became decisions 1 to 5 respectively.
Reason:
This confirms the sanction to be taken, as stated in the Question and
Answers Book on the Laws of the Game, when an object is thrown at an opponent
from a distance.
New title:
The Golden Goal and taking kicks from the penalty mark
are methods of determining the winning team where competition rules require
there to be a winning team after a match has been drawn.
Procedure
·
During the
period of extra time played at the end of normal playing time, the team which
scores the first goal is declared the winner.
·
If no
goals are scored the match is decided by kicks from the penalty mark
Procedure
Text remains unchanged.
Reason:
To formally recognise the approval, by the International F.A. Board, of
the Golden Goal as one of the possible procedures to determine the winner of a
match.
2. INFORMATION, INSTRUCTIONS AND DIRECTIVES
The International FA Board expressed its concern at the amount of
holding and pulling which was prevalent in football today. It recognised that
not every instance of holding and pulling of jerseys and shorts was unsporting
behaviour, as is also the case with deliberate handball. It expressed regret,
however, that referees were not applying the Laws fully in dealing with blatant
cases of holding and pulling and issued the following Mandatory Instruction:
Referees are instructed that, in the case of
blatant holding and pulling, the offence must be sanctioned by a direct free
kick, or a penalty kick if the offence is committed inside the penalty area,
and the player must be cautioned for unsporting behaviour.
The Board
considered the problems caused by injuries to players. It was of the opinion
that referees should allow players to return to the field of play as soon as
possible after they have recovered from injury. In this respect, and in the
case of players returning from treatment for a bleeding injury, referees may be
assisted by the fourth official, where one has been appointed to the match.
The Board also expressed its concern at the loss of playing time caused
by the assessment of injuries to players and their removal from the field of
play. The safety of the players must always be the main priority, however
referees are instructed to add the full amount of time lost for these and any
other reasons at the end of each period of play.
3. Experiments to the Laws
of the Game
The Board, having monitored the experiment of using of two referees in a
number of federations, decided to end the experiment.
The Board received reports from the Football Association and from the
Scottish Football Association about the experiment of advancing play by 9.15
metres towards the centre of the opposing goal where a player failed to respect
the required distance, delayed the restart of play by carrying, throwing or
kicking the ball away, showed dissent by word or action or indulged in any
other form of unsporting behaviour.
It agreed that the experiment should continue for another year with an
amendment to the current experiment to cease the advancement of play at the
penalty area line.
The Board
noted with concern that its decision taken on 4th March 1995
prohibiting advertising and club logos on goal nets and corner flags, was not
being respected. Such advertising or publicity is not permitted in the Laws of
the Game and FIFA was asked to take action against clubs which do not respect
these instruction.
The Board recognised that the celebration of a goal was an important and
emotional part of football and relaxed the earlier statement in FIFA Circular
579 of 23rd January 1996 that any player removing their jersey when celebrating
a goal should be cautioned.
Players will
no longer be cautioned if they remove their shirt but they will be cautioned
for unsporting behaviour if their celebrations are provocative and intended to
incite or ridicule opponents or opposing spectators. Players guilty of
excessive time-wasting while celebrating a goal will also be cautioned.
Sympathy was
expressed for players, especially young players, who need to wear spectacles.
It was accepted that new technology had made sports spectacles much safer, both
for the player himself and for other players.
While the referee has the final decision on the safety of players’
equipment, the Board expects that they will take full account of modern
technology and the improved safety features of spectacle design when making
their decision.
The Board was
pleased to note the major developments taking place in artificial playing
surfaces and the introduction of the FIFA Quality Concept for Artificial Turf.
FIFA stated that there was great interest in the introduction of these surfaces
both for climatic reasons and for use in enclosed all seated stadia.
Artificial surfaces are already permitted for qualifying matches in the
2002 FIFA World CupTM and Olympic Football Tournaments.
The amendments to the Laws take effect from 1st July 2001 and
other instructions and directives from the Board are introduced with
immediate effect.
We thank you for
your attention to the foregoing.
Yours faithfully,
FEDERATION INTERNATIONALE
DE
FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION
Michel
Zen-Ruffinen
General Secretary
cc: FIFA Executive Committee
FIFA Referees'
Committee
FIFA referees and
assistant referees
FIFA referee instructors
Confederations