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Five Seconds to Restart: Football’s New Laws Put Time-Wasting in the Referee’s Hands
Referees can now use visible countdowns for delayed throw-ins and goal kicks, while new rules also target slow substitutions, tactical injuries and unnecessarily long VAR reviews.
The Ref’s News · 6 August 2026
Football’s latest attempt to tackle time-wasting will place referees at the centre of a much stricter approach to match management during the 2026/27 season.
Under the updated Laws of the Game, referees can begin a visible five-second countdown when they believe a team is deliberately delaying a throw-in or goal kick.
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