The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) announced on Saturday that it will test a new refereeing decision during the 2025 Arab Cup. The new rule concerns players who suffer an injury and leave the field for medical treatment. Such players will be required to leave the pitch for two full minutes to avoid wasting time. Roberto Grassi, Head of FIFA Tournaments, stated that the benefits of testing this decision in the Arab Cup are to ensure the implementation of new procedures regarding matches and the way injuries are handled. He explained that referees will evaluate all the details of this experiment to make the appropriate decision after the tournament. Grassi also noted that FIFA always relies on testing new procedures before adopting them, as was the case with the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology. He revealed that the Arab Cup is a prestigious tournament for testing such a decision. Pierluigi Collina, Head of the FIFA Referees Committee, had previously revealed that FIFA is thinking of making football more beautiful and exciting for everyone. The main reason for this decision is to speed up the game. Collina explained the decision by saying that it will be applied in all cases except for a player who suffers an injury and whose opponent receives a yellow card or a red card because of the incident. Injuries to the goalkeeper will also be excluded, as a team cannot play without a goalkeeper. Hani Ballan, Deputy Chairman of the Referees Committee from Qatar, clarified that the objective of the decision is to treat the injured player exclusively and not the player who feigns injury. He added that when a player is injured, the referee approaches him and asks if his condition requires the physio to come on or if he will continue playing. At that point, the game will be sped up and time-wasting will be reduced. Grassi also pointed out that the Referees Committee will evaluate the experiment and that it is not a permanent decision. "We always test, think, monitor reactions, and then consult with partners before making a decision," he concluded.
