Penalty-takers will not be allowed to stop at the last second Penalty-takers will no longer be allowed to halt at the end of their run-ups to try to fool the goalkeeper. The International Football Association Board has decided it is "unsporting behaviour" and made it a yellow card offence in time for the World Cup. "Feinting in the run-up to take a penalty kick to confuse opponents is permitted," said Fifa's Jerome Valcke. "However, feinting to kick the ball once the player has completed his run-up is now considered an infringement." If players do feint at the end of their run-up and then score, they will have to take the kick again. The IFAB has also decided to give more power to the fourth official and to extend worldwide a European experiment with goal-line officials. We probably don't have the required numbers to do it domestically and the Premier League and the Football League have never been hugely keen on introducing it

FA on goal-line officials The fourth official, who normally oversees substitutions, off-pitch behaviour and match management, will now be allowed to rule on on-pitch incidents to "assist the referee to control the match". "Today he's as important as the other officials on the field," said Fifa general secretary Valcke. The decision to allow assistant referees, as seen in the last two Europa League seasons, is voluntary. Football associations and federations around the world can implement it if they wish but must run the trial for the whole competition. However, it is unlikely to be seen in either England or Scotland next season. Jonathan Hall, the Football Association's director of football services, said he did not think either the Premier League or Football League would be keen, and that it would not be practical in the FA Cup as the system would have to be used in the early rounds. "We probably don't have the required numbers to do it domestically and the Premier League and the Football League have never been hugely keen on introducing it," he said. "One reason is simply the number of officials of the relevant ability needed to provide the service and for those reasons we weren't very keen. "The other is because of concerns over safety - if you are standing behind the goal on a permanent basis you are more stationary and you may get something lobbed at you. "We had had a little think about whether we might do it in the FA Cup but what was made very clear is that you have to do it all the way through the competition and it's very difficult to see how you would do it for the very early rounds - that would be ridiculous. "We'll go back and have an open conversation about it and at league level it looks unlikely unless they have changed their minds on it. We don't want to prevent others from doing it if they want to however." Scottish FA president George Peat said: "I don't think we will be doing it in Scotland but we will obviously discuss that." The IFAB is made up of world governing body Fifa plus the four home associations who pioneered the sport - England's Football Association, the Scottish Football Association (SFA), the Football Association of Wales (FAW) and Northern Ireland's Irish Football Association (IFA).



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