IFAB keep triple punishment

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) has decided against removing the so called triple punishment of players who were deemed to have denied a goalscoring opportunity.

Many in football feel the punishment for denial of a clear scoring chance is too harsh - a red card, a penalty kick and an automatic suspension for the next match.

But at a meeting in Craigavad, just outside Belfast in Northern Ireland, the body responsible for deciding on the laws of football rejected UEFA's proposal to reduce the red card to a yellow.

However, Patrick Nelson, chief executive of the Irish Football Association, did say that the automatic suspension could be reconsidered for "non-serious infringements" and that this possibility would be referred to the FIFA disciplinary and legal committees.

IFAB dismissed calls to allow a fourth substitution in matches which went into extra-time, though this will be assessed further, but said rolling substitutes would be allowed at the lowest level of football after trials showed it helped increase participation.

The Netherlands Football Association requested to experiment with a video referee in the Dutch Cup but the board denied this, requesting more information.

And a proposal from the United States Football Federation to stop the match clock during games was also rejected.