New Laws of the Game at EURO

UEFA EURO 2016 will see the new Laws of the Game decided by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) given their first major exposure since they came into force on 1 June.

The laws have been redrafted primarily to improve structure and phraseology – but there are also changes to the actual laws themselves, based on common sense. Those changes include: the ball can be moved in any direction from the kick-off rather than only moving forward; and a player who is injured by a challenge punished by a yellow/red card can now have a quick assessment/treatment on the field, rather than having to leave the field, which previously gave the offending team a numerical advantage.

David Elleray, UEFA Referees Committee member and leader of the IFAB technical sub-committee charged with re-writing the Laws of the Game, is delighted that the updated laws will be tested to the full at EURO 2016. "The use of the revised new Laws of the Game for EURO is fantastic from an IFAB point of view," he said, "because this will showcase and help educate the world on what the changes are."

Elleray, a former English Premier League referee, added: "From a global point of view, this is a fantastic opportunity to show the world what the changes are, to help us educate referees throughout the world. So, in a way, UEFA is doing a great job helping the rest of the world understand the law changes.

"The game is much better for the revision," Elleray concluded, "and therefore EURO will be a better competition, because of IFAB's revision of the Laws of the Game."

UEFA EURO 2016 will also see the commencement of a two-year trial of the amended so-called 'triple punishment' rule, which previously involved dismissal, a penalty and a suspension for the denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity within the penalty area. Under the revision, referees will give a yellow card, and not a red card, if a goalkeeper or defender in the penalty area genuinely and honestly tries to challenge for the ball and commits a foul.

UEFA chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina stated: "UEFA has been trying to change this rule for many years so I am delighted to see the trial begin at EURO 2016. The change restores fairness as the punishment of penalty, red card and suspension was too harsh when there is a genuine attempt to win the ball. The penalty kick sees the goal-scoring opportunity restored. It is too much when a player tries to do his job but arrives just a bit late."

UEFA EURO 2016 will also mark the first time that goal-line technology (GLT) will be used for a full UEFA tournament. Pierluigi Collina stresses that goal-line technology and the additional assistant referees (AARs) system will operate in perfect harmony: "The main task of the AARs is not to control the goal line and decide whether a ball has crossed it; rather, they are responsible for monitoring everything that is happening in the penalty area overall, aiding the main referee in making important decisions in the box. Now, with GLT focused on the goal-line, the additional assistants can focus exclusively on the control of other incidents in the penalty area – the most crucial area of the pitch."