Changes coming to 2019/20 football
Infantino made these comments at the 133rd General Assembly for the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which took place in Aberdeen, which comprised of federations from England (FA), Scotland (SFA), Wales (FAW) and Northern Ireland (IFA), as well as FIFA (which represents the remaining 207 national federations).
Infantino, in line with the rest of the IFAB members, highlighted that after the use of VAR in the 2018 World Cup, this system (approved a year ago on March 3rd 2018), is now an "accepted part" of the sport which has brought "greater impartiality to the game" without having "any significant interruption".
The organisation agreed to keep assisting the global introduction of VAR, as well as a plan for an internal digitalisation program which will support the education of referees and the laws of the game.
The association also focused on "refining the laws for the benefit of the game" and made the decision to provide a "more precise and detailed definition" of what constitutes a handball.
In particular, it addressed the occasions in which a player would have been penalised for an accidental handball. Officials can no longer award goals that have been influenced by a handball, even if accidental. In the same way, to create an opportunity for a goal after having benefitted from a handball will no longer be allowed, even if accidental.
The association has also done away with the law regarding rebounds for penalties. If the goalkeeper saves or the ball hits one of the posts, the play would no longer be valid and play would return to kick-off. Also, from now, goalkeepers will only need to have one foot on the goal-line for penalties.
After rigourous experiments and testing around the world, IFAB has also approved changes to the laws regarding player subsitutions, insisting that from now players must leave the field at the nearest boundary line in order to avoid time-wasting. Yellow and red cards for indecent behaviour on the bench are also being reintroduced.
One more change has been made, explaining that it is no longer a requirement that the ball should leave the area during a goal kick before another player touches it.
Additional changes to approved laws have introduced measures to deal with attacking players who commit fouls in the defensive wall during free-kicks. Attacking players will now have to stand one metre away from the defensive wall at free-kicks.