FIFA has changed the Laws of Game effective June 1, 2019.
There have been several changes to the Laws that we will be enforcing beginning in the Fall at Heartland for league and tournament play. This note will highlight these changes and provide you with a copy of the IFAB document explaining these changes.
· On a goal kick and a free kick for the defending team in their own penalty area, the ball is in play when it is “kicked and moved”, i.e., it can be played before it leaves the penalty area.
· For defensive walls, attacking team players must be at least 1 meter away from the defensive wall
· On Penalty Kicks, the goal keeper has to have one foot on the line
· On dropped balls, the ball will be dropped for one player of the team that last touched the ball at the point of the last touch. All other players must be at least 4.5 yards away.
· Deliberate handball remains an offense. There are some additional instruction when handling, even if accidental, will be a free kick. (This one will take a little longer to perfect)
· On the coin toss at the start of the match, the team that wins the toss can now choose to take the kick off or which goal to attack.
· Finally, players being substituted can leave from any part of the field. Substitutions still have to enter at the mid line.
Please follow the two links below for the new Laws:
2019 Law Changes Summary
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FkuU1-1JdlU8XyV0_XzRZG7typ1ykujCQfHF09E4S2w/edit
New laws being enforced for Heartland League and Tournaments:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1L__O6ziEn-TRCm5Uec3p6LyNmifI7IY7Qd-fUfn6yzk/edit