Originally Posted by
kkong
I can't wait to hear the complaints about crap refereeing from stands all around the country!
Law 8 – The Start and Restart of Play: The Dropped Ball
The current dropped ball procedure is unsatisfactory as it often leads to confrontation or a 'manufactured' restart which is 'exploited' unfairly, e.g. kicking the ball out for a throw-in deep in the opponents'half.
The new procedure is for the dropped ball to be 'uncontested' – the ball will be dropped for only one player and all other players must remain at least 4m (4.5 yds) away.
Play will then continue 'as normal', i.e. the ball is not given back to the opponents.
If play was stopped when the ball or the last touch of the ball was in the penalty area, the ball will be dropped for the defending team goalkeeper.
In all other cases, the ball will be dropped for one player of the team that last touched the ball at the place where it was last touched.