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FIFA World Cup officials are poised to implement a rule modification for penalty shootouts – ahead of the knockout rounds. In an extraordinary and unprecedented decision, the governing body intends to alter the regulations mid-competition.. . . . Existing rules involve two coin tosses, with the first determining the choice of ends and the second establishing which side goes first. But FIFA referee chief Pierluigi Collina wants to introduce one coin toss for this tournament.. The victor would then select which end to shoot toward and then the opposing captain would determine who goes first. FIFA believes that will balance things out on shootouts for this World Cup, as per The Mirror.. -Credit:Verity Griffin – FIFA, FIFA via Getty Images. FIFA representatives have held talks with the International FA Board (IFAB), soccer’s law-making body, regarding the modification. Typically such rule changes require IFAB approval but, following a video conference scheduled for Saturday, they are preparing to fast-track it for the knockout matches which begin on Sunday.. . . . This shootout adjustment is a trial rather than an official rule change – and therefore not mandatory, next season, in competitions like the FA Cup and League Cup, although the EFL and FA could opt to embrace them if they petition IFAB.. France won the coin toss and elected to kick first in the 2022 World Cup final, but Argentina prevailed in the shootout at the end, where most spectators were gathered. Arsenal lost both coin tosses in their recent UEFA Champions League final penalty shootout loss to Paris Saint-Germain.. In 2023, former Arsenal chairman David Dein revealed proposals to conduct penalty shootouts at both ends of the pitch. Dein – who previously served on the FIFA and UEFA competitions committees – argued it was ‘unfair’ for players to attempt their spot kicks in front of opposition supporters.. To listen to the latest episode of ‘All Out Soccer’ – CLICK HERE. . . . “The more I watched shootouts, the more I felt it was unfair on the team who have to take their kicks in front of the opposing fans,” he said in his book Calling the Shots: How to Win in Football and Life by David Dein.. He added: “I’m not asking the referee to go up and down. There’s the referee, the fourth official, and two assistants and in major finals, an assistant referee.. “It’s not rocket science having two officiating at either end and one in the centre circle. Invariably there are 32 cameras at a major final, so the coverage will be the same.. “My plan is so simple I don’t understand why it’s never been done. I keep hearing the word ‘tradition’ and, ‘it’s always been done like this’.. . . . “Well, 100 years ago buses were drawn by horses and that was ‘tradition’. This is progress.”
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