Goalkeepers may no longer receive red cards as football laws are revised - including "triple jeopardy" rule

Goalkeepers may no longer receive red cards after a major revolutionary revision of football’s laws.

The usual tradition is the very much dreaded “triple jeopardy” rule which sees that keepers who are red carded get sent off, have to serve a suspension and most commonly, concede a penalty in the same vein. This new rule will seek to address this.

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) has made 95 changes and removed ambiguous language to simplify their Laws of the Game handbook.

What this goalkeeping law means is that as long as referees can confirm that keepers have made a genuine attempt to go for the ball then denying strikers an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, such goalie will now only receive a yellow card.

Fouls committed outside the box or obvious professional fouls in the penalty area will still result in a red card but the key is whether players make a genuine attempt.

The new laws will be brought in from June 1 and England have received special permission to use them in their pre-Euro warm-up friendlies with Australia and Turkey in May.

IFAB technical director David Elleray, who said the new law to replace triple jeopardy was being done on a two year trial basis, said: “It was agreed that the triple jeopardy punishment of a penalty, red card and suspension was too harsh. “

The other key changes will allow the ball to be kicked backward from kick-offs and also a fouled player will no longer necessarily have to leave the pitch for treatment.

If the injured player can be dealt with quickly then he will not be asked to leave the pitch.

There is also a new law which means if players have a pre-match bust-up - like if Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane’s infamous tunnel bust-up came to blows - then they would be removed from the starting line-ups and be replaced by a substitute.