EDMONTON — Check the replays of most penalty kicks taken in games around the world. And, on many of the saves or misses, you could argue retakes should have been given.

The rules, after all, previously called for the ‘keeper to have both feet on the line when the ball was struck by the shooter. But, let’s face it, many keepers were already lunging off the line before the kick was taken, and only the most egregious of violators were caught.

Keepers moving off the line early was kind of like traveling in the NBA; you saw it a lot — but it was an infraction that referees often ignored.

But, as part of a laundry list of rule changes to be made in the 2020-21 edition of the Laws of the Game, FIFA and the International Football Association Board have altered the way penalty kicks will be handled.

In the next edition of the Laws of the Game, the keeper will only have to have one foot on the line when a PK is struck. The rules will allow for the keeper to take that first step off the line.

“I think this is what most keepers are doing anyway,” Pacific FC keeper Mark Village told CanPL.ca.

Village added he’s seen some refs who are sticklers for ‘keepers staying on the line, but many more who allow the keepers to cheat off the line. But, he thinks the new rules set some clear guidelines.

And this is where it gets interesting. Village thinks that referees may react by calling the new rule by the book, rather than allowing a lot of pre-shot movement as they did under the old rule. Basically, the new rule can be seen as a line in the sand, not a green light for keepers to cheat even more.

“Right now, many referees aren’t as strict as they could be, but maybe with the new rule they’ll be more strict about it.” Village said. “And, trust me, as a goalkeeper, you are going to try to take as much as you can.”

It seems counterintuitive, but by adjusting the rule to seemingly help out the ‘keepers, FIFA could be paving the way for more retakes.

Cavalry FC keeper Marco Carducci said he hopes the change takes away the grey area.

“I always did my best to keep that situation from happening,” Carducci said. “I agree that it’s something that isn’t called that often. But it’s also one of those things where, if you do it, you’re worried if it will be called or not. You don’t want to make the save and then have a retake, so why take chances with it?”

Wall of Confusion

And, when the defending team is setting up a wall, no attacking player can be within one metre of those players — so it shouldn’t take two minutes to restart the game after a foul is committed.

“I’ve seen many case where an attacking player goes into the wall in order to block the view of the keeper,” said Village. “So the fact they’re no longer able to do that, it’s a positive change. It’s a big change.”

As well, goal kicks no longer have to leave the penalty area before they can be touched by another player. A keeper can make a quick pass to a teammate in the area and get the game moving.

For those of us who have seen time-wasting in CONCACAF games taken to ridiculous levels, there could be some relief. Under the new rules, when a sub is made, the player coming off has to get off the field by crossing the nearest touchline or goal-line. He doesn’t have to come over to the technical area. So, no more slow jogs back to the bench to eat up time. If the player is near the corner flag, that’s where he goes off.

Cavalry coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. said that he hopes the Canadian Premier League doesn’t feature a lot of the con games and time wasting shenanigans which have troubled the game in many other parts of the world.

“We have to get away from rolling on the ground. Yes, players are going to get hit, but (they shouldn’t) roll around and embellish it,” Wheeldon Jr. told CanPL.ca’s Kurt Larson earlier this winter. “Get up! It’s a game we want to promote to the kids. Let’s leave a good example. We have a chance to do that.”

Handball calls

This is a debate that many soccer fans have had online or over pints at the pub. Was it hand-to-ball or ball-to-hand?

What does that even mean?

And Diego Maradona’s famous “Hand of God” goal, which he punched into the English net at the 1986 World Cup, well, that still boils the blood of Three Lions fans.

But, FIFA and IFAB are tweaking how handballs are handled by referees.

In a statement issued this week, IFAB says that a “goal scored directly from the hand/arm (even if accidental) and a player scoring or creating a goal-scoring opportunity after having gained possession/control of the ball from their hand/arm (even if accidental) will no longer be allowed.”

As well, referees will be allowed to determine that if a defender is moving, it’s natural for his arms to not be by his side or behind is back. So, the handball changes look to be skewed to giving the defending teams the benefit of the doubt, but then removing that same benefit of the doubt for the attacking teams.

No matter new rules or old rules, FC Edmonton coach Jeff Paulus said that referees in the Canadian Premier League need to be consistent, and they don’t need to manage the games or make their own interpretations of the rules.

“I want our referees to, quite simply, follow the Laws of the Game. Nothing more, nothing less,” Paulus told Larson. “I want the game called the way it’s meant to be called. I want the teams that want to play football to have the chance to play football.”

Added Forge FC boss Bobby Smyrniotis: “At the end of the day it’s about the Laws of the Game and them knowing them.

“I have confidence they’ll do that to the best of their ability.”