Re establishing the Goalkeepers 8 second rule.

[baggiematt]

Anyone who thinks that the referees will adopt this rule live in cloud cuckoo land! When the six second rule was brought in, the referees totally ignored it. Similarly, a couple of seasons ago, they were told to crack down of pushing and shoving at corners. That lasted a couple of games and now the penalty box at corners looks more akin to a scrum at Twickenham! The referees are far too weak thesedays.

I think that's because the consequence hasn't been right. Previously a breach of 6 second rule led to an indirect freekick in the box. A half decent chance of a goal. The consequence now will be a corner, which has a 3% likelihood of a goal, so I don't think refs will have an issue following the rules on this.

Pushing in the box is tricky because both sides do it and it's hard for a ref to always spot a culprit. It's often 6 to 1. Also 16-18 players in a small area all vying for a ball leads to contact; there has to be some level of contact. To give a penalty in most circumstance is tricky.