FIFA - Preface to
In the twelve years since its last major revision of the Laws of the Game,
the International Football Association Board has made a signifiant
number of additions and amendments to the Laws themselves, and
various accompanying publications and teaching materials have been
produced and distributed by football‘s governing bodies in order to
assist match officials in their duties and to clarify concepts for the
football community as a whole.
While this year’s edition of the Laws of the Game features only
one amendment to the 2007/2008 edition in terms of substance,
the overall wording and structure has been reviewed and revised to
consolidate and reorganise the content for the sake of consistency,
simplification and clarification. Among the most notable changes
in this respect, some of the Decisions of the International Football
Association Board from last year’s edition of the Laws of the Game
are now either incorporated in the Law to which they were previously appended or appear in the section now entitled “Interpretation of the Laws of the Game and Guidelines for Referees”.
With this new title, the International Football Association Board wishes to underline that, while the content of this section is intended to complement the Laws of the Game themselves, its application is indeed a compulsory requirement.
In addition, certain principles that were previously implicitly understood throughout the game but did not explicitly feature in the Laws of the Game have been included in this new edition for completeness.
Finally, the International Football Association Board reminds the
associations and confederations that it is their duty, under the FIFA
Statutes, to ensure the Laws of the Game are implemented strictly
and consistently at all levels of competitionthe International Football Association Board has made a signifiant
number of additions and amendments to the Laws themselves, and
various accompanying publications and teaching materials have been
produced and distributed by football‘s governing bodies in order to
assist match officials in their duties and to clarify concepts for the
football community as a whole.
While this year’s edition of the Laws of the Game features only
one amendment to the 2007/2008 edition in terms of substance,
the overall wording and structure has been reviewed and revised to
consolidate and reorganise the content for the sake of consistency,
simplification and clarification. Among the most notable changes
in this respect, some of the Decisions of the International Football
Association Board from last year’s edition of the Laws of the Game
are now either incorporated in the Law to which they were previously appended or appear in the section now entitled “Interpretation of the Laws of the Game and Guidelines for Referees”.
With this new title, the International Football Association Board wishes to underline that, while the content of this section is intended to complement the Laws of the Game themselves, its application is indeed a compulsory requirement.
In addition, certain principles that were previously implicitly understood throughout the game but did not explicitly feature in the Laws of the Game have been included in this new edition for completeness.
Finally, the International Football Association Board reminds the
associations and confederations that it is their duty, under the FIFA
Statutes, to ensure the Laws of the Game are implemented strictly
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