FOOTIE fans were left stunned after seeing a referee implement the newly-introduced eight-second rule during the Club World Cup.
The rule, which results in teams conceding a corner if their goalkeeper holds onto the ball for longer than eight seconds, was introduced in March following a significant change to the law.
It replaced the previous law punishing keepers for holding the ball for more than six seconds with an indirect free kick.
A major violation of the rule hadn’t been seen by footie fans until the clash between Ulsan HD and Mamelodi Sundowns on Tuesday night.
Referee Clement Turpin punished Sundowns stopper Ronwen Williams for holding the ball longer than the permitted time as the clock ticked to the 83rd minute.
Turpin was keeping a close eye on the stopper as he was seemingly running down the clock to preserve his side’s 1-0 lead, which they ended up retaining.
And he didn’t hesitate to award a corner after deeming him to have held the ball longer than the allotted time.
Williams and his team-mates couldn’t quite believe the referee’s call, with one of them lambasting the official before he pointed to the corner spot.
Footage of Turpin’s call spread like wildfire on social media.
And footie fans around the world who are seemingly sick and tired of goalkeepers’ time-wasting antics were thrilled to see the rule being implemented.
One commented on a clip of the incident and said: “Good rule, best way to cut down on time wasting is change of possession.”;
And another said: “Good. Enforce more rules against time wasting and do it more strictly.”;
And another said: “F***ing great rule.”;
One remarked: “Great rule. Not sure about a corner being the appropriate punishment, though.
“But then again I don’t know what else I’d suggest LMAO.”;
Another chimed in: “Obviously, it’s Clement Turpin as well. Such a good ref.”;
