Chelsea’s Robert Sanchez came under fire during the Blues’ FA Cup semi-final win over Leeds United at the weekend
The Premier League has been invited to tackle the goalkeeper timeout tactic that Robert Sanchez came under fire for at the weekend.
Chelsea were slammed for ‘cheating’ by Leeds United fans during their FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Sunday. During the second-half of the match, with the Blues holding a slender lead and Leeds building pressure, Sanchez sat down and waved for treatment from the medical staff.
Referee Jarred Gillett stopped the game and allowed treatment to start, with Chelsea players heading to the technical area for instructions. Leeds fans booed the situation, and club captain Ethan Ampadu was so incensed that he attempted to enter the Blues team talk to disrupt matters.
This tactic was slammed by many, including former Chelsea star Pat Nevin. He said: “It’s pure gamesmanship. That’s a problem in the game. If you are the referee, you’ve got to make a decision. He’s not injured.”
This tactic is all too familiar in football and is often used to stop the opposition’s consistent attacks or to regroup players. However, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) is now planning to trial different rules to prevent this across the game.
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Trials will take place throughout the 2026/27 season, with the Women’s Super League (WSL) putting its hand up to be part of the process. The Premier League has also been asked, with the results to be looked at by IFAB in March next year.
One trial will stipulate that any player who requires treatment will be forced to go off for a full minute, as opposed to the 30-second rule currently in place. But if a goalkeeper requires treatment, then another member of the team must depart the field.
Chiefs believe that this would be the best solution as it would be consistent with the current law. However, others claim it may not be enough as a deterrent, and coaches could use this as a tactical advantage in some ways.
Another trial rule follows the same rules as the above, but with twice the time. An outfield player must depart the field for two minutes instead, leaving their team down to 10 for a reasonable period of time.
Those in favour of this rule believe it is a much harsher punishment for those feigning injury. But opponents of this trial fear it could deter genuinely injured players from seeking treatment, as they could end up affecting their team negatively.
The third trial rule is already in place in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) across the water. It stops players from approaching the technical area when play is stopped for injury.
The NWSL rules dictate that players must either remain in the area they had been in where the injury occurred or gather in their own half. If a player approaches the technical area, the team and/or the coach could face disciplinary action from the league.
However, if the goalkeeper is substituted before play restarts, then the rule does not apply. This does not deter tactical stoppages when opposition teams are building up pressure, though.
And finally, trial rule number four is a mixture of the first and third procedures. This would mean that in the event of a goalkeeper going down, then players are not able to go to the touchline, and an outfield star must also leave the field for a minute upon the restart.
