The current edition of the Laws of the Game, which came into effect on 1 July 2024, features the following changes and clarifications:
Law 3 (The Players): Additional permanent concussion substitutions to be a competition option in accordance with the necessary protocol.
Law 3 (The Players) and Law 4 (The Players’ Equipment): Each team must have a team captain who wears an identifying armband.
Law 4 (The Players’ Equipment): Players are responsible for the size and suitability of their shinguards, which remain a compulsory part of their equipment.
Law 12 (Fouls and Misconduct): Handball offences that are not deliberate, and for which penalties are awarded, are to be treated in the same way as other fouls.
Law 14 (The Penalty Kick): Part of the ball must touch or overhang the centre of the penalty mark, and encroachment by outfield players will be penalised only if it has an impact.
Law 12 - Amended text:
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Cautions for unsporting behaviour
There are different circumstances when a player must be cautioned for unsporting behaviour including if a player:
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· handles the ball to interfere with or stop a promising attack, except where the referee awards a penalty kick for a non-deliberate handball offence
· denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and the referee awards a penalty kick for a non-deliberate handball offence
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Sending-off offences
A player, substitute or substituted player who commits any of the following offences is sent off:
· denying the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by committing a deliberate handball offence (except a goalkeeper within their penalty area)
· denying the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by committing a non-deliberate handball offence outside their own penalty area
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Denying a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity (DOGSO)
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Where a player denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by committing a deliberate handball offence, the player is sent off wherever the offence occurs (except a goalkeeper within their penalty area).
Where a player denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by committing a non-deliberate handball offence and the referee awards a penalty kick, the offender is cautioned.
Explanation:
Non-deliberate handball offences are usually the result of a player attempting to play fairly, so when a penalty kick is awarded for such offences, the same philosophy should apply as for offences (fouls) which are an attempt to play the ball or a challenge for the ball, i.e. DOGSO offences result in a yellow card and SPA offences result in no card. Deliberate handball remains a red-card offence when a penalty kick is awarded, as it is similar to holding, pulling, pushing, no possibility to play the ball etc.
Law 14 - Additional text:
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If, before the ball is in play, one of the following occurs:
· a team-mate of the player taking the penalty kick is penalised for encroachment only if:
o the encroachment clearly impacted on the goalkeeper; or
o the encroaching player plays the ball or challenges an opponent for the ball and then scores, attempts to score or creates a goal-scoring opportunity
· a team-mate of the goalkeeper is penalised for encroachment only if:
o the encroachment clearly impacted on the kicker; or
o the encroaching player plays the ball or challenges an opponent for the ball and this prevents the opponents from scoring, attempting to score or creating a goal-scoring opportunity
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Explanation:
Player encroachment can be difficult to detect and manage, especially at the lower levels of the game, where there may be no neutral assistant referees. However, it can easily be identified by the video assistant referee, and if Law 14 were to be applied strictly, most penalty kicks would be retaken. Since encroachment rarely affects the outcome of the kick (only if the ball rebounds into play), the same principle should apply to player encroachment as to goalkeeper encroachment, i.e. it is penalised only if it has an impact.
Source: IFAB
