SOCCER FOOTBALL.

Auckland Star, Volume 198, Issue LVII, 21 August 1926, Page 27

SOCCER FOOTBALL.

Having carried the day in regard to the off-side law, Scotland have now made .an important proposal in regard to the penalty kick in Association football. At the present time, when a penalty is awarded for an offence within the defined area, the ball is placed on the spot, and only the goalkeeper is allowed to attempt to stop the shot. Scqtland would now abolish th.'s penalty and enforce a more stringent one. That is to say, for all offences within an area of thirty yards, they would give free kicks, which would be taken from the place where the offence was committed. Under these conditions all defenders, except the goalkeeper, would position themselves behind the ball at the moment of the kick. There is little .chance of this drastic alteration being accepted by England, but Scotland are persistent, and the proposal will no doubt be brought up year after year until it is adopted. Another important proposal is to be brought before the English league clvb 0 At the present time a date is fixed —it is in the middle of March—for the engagement of new men to play during the remainder of the season. This restriction is imposed to prevent clubs, who are in danger of losing their places in the competitions trying to buy their way- to safety. For instance, a club threatened- with relegation to a lower section of the* League might spend thousands of pounds on fresh players, and so strengthen their team that all their troubles would be at an end. It is now proposed by the Arsenal Club that the last date when clubs may sign on men shall be December 31. The same club also suggests that a player shall not be eligible to play for and against the same club in one season.