According to the American newspaper, The Times, this new law aims to reduce time wasting in football matches .

This law was successfully tested in the Premier League Under-21 League , where goalkeepers were not allowed to keep the ball for more than 8 seconds.

In the event of a violation of this rule, the referee will raise his hand and count down from 5 seconds to zero, then award a corner kick to the opposing team

This system has also been implemented in Malta, and its trial is set to be expanded to include the U-20 league in Italy.

If this experiment proves successful, it is likely that this law will be adopted in all levels of football competitions.

Current laws allow the referee to award an indirect free kick if the goalkeeper does not release the ball quickly enough, but referees are often reluctant to take this action because it gives the opposing team an easy chance to score a goal.