Latest news with #lawchange
The Independent
a day ago
- Sport
- The Independent
The new law change that will make football ‘much quicker'
A new football law change will make the game a lot quicker, a referee chief has said. A significant new rule was seen during the Euro 2025 final between England and Spain during the penalty shootout. Beth Mead slipped when she took her penalty, causing her to touch the ball twice before the ball hit the back of the net. This is not allowed. Previously, the goal would have been chalked off. But thanks to the new law, it meant she was allowed to retake her penalty kick. If a double-touch happens during a game and a player misses or has the penalty saved, a free-kick will be awarded to the defending team. But it is another law that is being hailed as a positive for the game. Referees can now give corners to the opposition if goalkeepers take more than eight seconds to release the ball from their hands. A previous six-second rule was hardly ever enforced, with refs seemingly reluctant to order indirect free-kicks for the infringement. But a leading referee chief expects this summer's major law change to speed up games without referees having to intervene much, if at all. On the worldwide rule change, Scottish Football Association head of referees Willie Collum said: 'We think it will make the game much quicker because the goalkeepers now are under pressure to release a ball. 'We'll have prepared our referees tactically for that as well, forgetting just about the decision-making, the eight seconds and punishing it. We also know there will be a lot of shorter balls at times in and around the penalty area. We need our referees to be well prepared for that. 'But, it's like any rule change, the clubs are aware of it. We've spoken to a lot of goalkeeper coaches who are saying they've already been coaching it, working at it. So, we don't think we'll see a great amount of issues with that.' Referees will start the count when the goalkeeper is in full control of the ball and is unobstructed by opponents, and will visibly count the last five seconds. If any opposition player pressures or obstructs the goalkeeper, an indirect free-kick will be awarded. Collum added: 'We know that in the League Cup so far, we've not encountered any issues with it at all. It's not been punished once. So we'd hope that would continue throughout the season. We'll be proactive as well in working with the goalkeepers with that.' Another law to come in this summer involves referees: if touch the ball, they will hand a drop ball to the team who would have received it, rather than only resuming the game with possession to the last team that played the ball.
RNZ News
7 days ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
Coroner wants law change in corporate boxing
A coroner wants to see a law change when it comes to corporate boxing and for more stringent controls over such events after the death of Christchurch man Kain Parsons. Mr Parsons died following 30 blows to the head in a charity bout seven years ago. His family now want to see corporate boxing banned but are mostly backing the coroner's call for tougher controls. Adam Burns reports. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
France 24
17-07-2025
- Business
- France 24
UK, Germany vow to tackle people smuggling gangs
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Merz had agreed to change German law this year so that small boats used to transport migrants across the English Channel can be seized in Germany. "It's a clear sign that we mean business in every way," the British premier told reporters. Berlin, though, has yet to confirm when the legislation will be introduced. Merz's trip came a week after undocumented migrants topped the political agenda during a state visit to Britain by French President Emmanuel Macron. Merz said he would host Macron in Germany next week. Starmer and his German counterpart signed the first ever "friendship treaty" between their countries at London's Victoria and Albert Museum, named after Queen Victoria and her German-born husband, before holding talks at the PM's Downing Street office. Merz said London and Berlin had agreed an exchange programme, in which German and British school children would not need visas to take part. Speaking in German, he said he believed allowing the "young generation" to get to know each other and their respective countries was a "good basis for the further development of our relations". Arms co-operation Downing Street said the two leaders would also agree to jointly boost exports of military goods such as Boxer armoured vehicles and Typhoon jets, which could lead to "billions of pounds of additional" orders. They would also commit to developing a precision strike missile with a range of more than 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles) in the next decade. Undocumented migration has become a major headache for Starmer's year-old Labour government, as support for the upstart anti-immigrant Reform UK party soars. More than 22,500 would-be asylum seekers have arrived on England's southeastern coast by small boat from northern France this year alone. The prime minister's office said changing the law in Germany would allow police to "take action against warehouses and storage facilities used by migrant smugglers" to conceal small boats intended for Channel crossings. Starmer and Merz also discussed continued support for Ukraine, with both countries expected to play a role in US President Donald Trump's plan to send weapons to Kyiv with financing from other NATO countries. Brexit trauma The visit was Merz's first to the UK as chancellor, although he has already met Starmer several times. They made the same trip by train to Ukraine just days after Merz took office in early May. The wide-ranging agreement also known as the "Kensington Treaty" refers to the turbulent security situation faced by both countries, and includes a mutual defence pact. "There is no strategic threat to one which would not be a strategic threat to the other," the pact says, with a pledge the two countries "shall assist one another, including by military means, in case of an armed attack". While Britain and Germany already have a commitment to mutual defence as NATO members, the treaty aims to pave the way for greater defence cooperation, including operations on NATO's eastern flank. Macron's trip to Britain in early July was the first state visit to the country by a European Union head of state since the UK's acrimonious departure from the EU in 2020 following the 2016 referendum. Merz said that while he personally "deplore(d)" Britain's decision to leave the bloc, the UK, France and Germany were "converging" in policy matters including migration and security. Britain and Germany also agreed that some UK passport holders would be able to use faster German eGates and they committed to improving train connections. Last month Eurostar said it planned to launch a new route from London to Frankfurt in the early 2030s -- the first such direct connection between the UK and Germany.
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
UK football police chief calls for major change and makes £58m demand of top clubs - as he highlights how fans are being treated 'unjustly'
The UK's head of football policing is calling for a law change that would force football clubs – and not the taxpayer – to fund a £58m shortfall. Chief Constable Mark Roberts says it is 'unjust' for the public 'to have to subsidise such a rich industry' - with forces currently only able to charge for services provided inside stadiums and on club property. 'They do not have to pay a penny towards the policing of surrounding streets, city centres or towards the increasing marches to stadiums by fans,' Mr Roberts said. 'When you think about the number of stadiums that back on to public land that does not make any sense. Old Trafford, for example, where you have Sir Matt Busby Way that is closed to cars and which needs to be policed. At Bramall Lane, the away fans come straight out onto Bramall Lane which is where the flashpoints tend to be. It's madness.' Mr Roberts is the head of the UK Football Policing Unit, which claims that, of an annual bill of £71m, only £13m is being recouped from clubs. 'That cannot be right,' he told Mail Sport. 'I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for that extra money. We need new legislation urgently putting in place to change this.' Mr Roberts rejected the notion that because top clubs pay more taxes they should be able to call on more resources. 'Everyone pays taxes,' he said. 'That's life. Just because you live in a wealthy area, it does not mean you get more police resources. In a nutshell, this means that we as the police are subsidising clubs that quite happily spend close to £400m in a single transfer window.' Mr Roberts has backing from head of the Metropolitan Police Sir Mark Rowley, who earlier this week made a similar point. 'Why isn't the organiser paying, rather than local communities who lose their resources to go to football matches?' he told the BBC. The Premier League declined to comment. Top-flight clubs paid £4.2bn in tax during the 2021-22 season. As Mail Sport revealed, they also made a one-off 'gift' payment of around £7m last year in a move some viewed as an attempt to increase the number of high-profile matches kicking off in later slots.
RNZ News
03-07-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Polynesian Panthers co-founder on proposed law change
A proposed law change for out-of-hours immigration visits has been met with some criticisms from the Pasifika community who are calling for the practice to be outlawed. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
