Footballers who exit the field slowly now trigger a penalty
New rules designed to stop time-wasting force teams to play with ten men if a substituted player takes more than ten seconds to leave.
Football officials have introduced a strict ten-second limit for players being substituted to exit the pitch. If a player fails to reach the nearest boundary line within this window, their replacement is barred from entering the field for at least one minute. This leaves their team short-handed until the next natural stoppage in play, which can last significantly longer than the initial penalty.
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