The International Football Association Board (IFAB) have announced some rule changes to goalkeepers when penalties are being taken, and they will change penalties forever.
From the 1st of July, goalkeepers will no longer be allowed to taunt penalty takers in anyway leading up to the kick.
Some of these things are: They cannot touch goalposts and nets, delay the execution of penalty, unfairly distract the taker, demonstrate behaviours that fail to show respect.
For goalkeepers such as Emiliano Martinez, this will change and alter the way that they approach penalty shootouts forever.
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Martinez is known for his taunting mind-games during penalties, and it arguably helped Argentina to win the World Cup in Qatar, where he distracted the French players before each kick they took.
It has split the opinions of fans, with many believing that it is a part of the game, whereas some others think that it is unfair to add these rules for goalkeepers and not try to ban stuttered run-ups for the penalty-takers.
One fan said: 'Can’t lie this is part of the game, it’s just mind games.'
Another said: 'If goalies can’t do things like this, then the stutter step/feint run up should be banned.'
One fan even attributed the whole rule change to Martinez: 'i’m going to tell my kids how one man changed a whole system himself. Dibuuu'
Goalkeepers must now keep their distance in penalty shootouts and in regular games too, with no taunting allowed, it takes a huge pressure factor out of the equation for takers.
The rule changes do now favour the attackers, with methods such as Grobelaar's spaghetti legs, Dudek's body movement distractions, Tim Krul's waiting at the penalty spot and now Emiliano Martinez's constant taunting, both verbally and physically with the ball, things of the past.
Whether or not this proves to be a good thing for penalty shooutouts in the future is yet to be seen.
Topics: Emiliano Martinez, Football
Joshua Nair