Players who receive treatment for an injury could be forced to stay off the field for one minute under proposals from FIFA.
It is one of a number of measures to tackle tempo disruption and time lost, which are set to be approved at the International Football Association Board (Ifab) annual general meeting on Saturday.
At present, there is no stipulation in the laws regarding how long injured players must remain on the sidelines.
Leagues have the right to set their own guidelines, and the Premier League has adopted a 30-second rule since the 2023-24 season.
FIFA held its own trials at the Arab Cup in December, which required players to stay off the field for 2 minutes.
FIFA referees’ chief Pierluigi Collina says the two-minute rule is intended to reduce time-wasting and improve the flow of the game.
It mirrors the approach taken by Major League Soccer, which triggers if a player remains on the ground for more than 15 seconds and the physio comes on.
At an Ifab meeting in January, it was agreed that a fixed period should be added to the laws, but there was disagreement over the length and strong pushback against 2 minutes.
Leagues have concerns about unintended consequences
One minute has been proposed as a halfway house, but BBC Sport understands concerns remain about negative impacts.
Manchester United were angered last season when Matthijs de Ligt was forced to leave the field with a cut, and Brentford scored from a corner while he was off the pitch.
The fear is that a one-minute absence would make it far more likely a team could concede a goal when down to 10 players.
Thirty seconds already causes frustration among supporters – and the unintended consequences of goals conceded could add further pressure on officials.
There is an acceptance that players use supposed injuries to break up play, but it is felt that extending the time limit could unduly penalise genuinely injured players.
There are a few exceptions.
If the opponent is shown a yellow or red card, the injured player does not need to stay off. Goalkeepers are also exempt, while a penalty taker would be able to stay on.
However, Ifab is not expected to pass any resolution to tackle the tactical timeout. This is when a goalkeeper goes down off the ball so a coach can give new instructions to the team.
Ifab’s advisory panels have discussed the issue at some length, but so far, there has been no agreement on a solution.
Following the success of the eight-second rule for goalkeepers holding the ball, new countdown measures are set to be approved.
A similar process will be added to goal-kicks and throw-ins, with possession changing to the opposition if it takes too long.
A 10-second limit will also be applied to substituted players – if they do not get off the pitch, the replacement will not be allowed to come on.
A team would have to play with 10 players until the next stoppage, and that must be after at least 60 seconds.
Ifab is expected to approve video assistant referee reviews for wrongly awarded second yellow cards and, as a competition opt-in, corners.
The Canadian Premier League is also likely to be granted permission to start trials of Arsene Wenger’s daylight offside.
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