Football chiefs to introduce new ‘Mikel Arteta law’ after his touchline antics

Football chiefs are set to introduce a new law to prevent managers being sacked for unintentional mistakes after Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta touched the ball before it went out of play against Inter Milan.

The Spaniard was shown a yellow card for the unintentional foul during the Champions League match last month after he grabbed the ball just before it crossed the touchline for a throw-in.

Under normal rules, Arteta would have been sent off for handling the ball while it was still in play, but was only shown a yellow card for the foul by official Istvan Kovacs.

While this warranted a dismissal under the Laws of the Game, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) plans to change their laws for coaches who wrongfully interfere with the game in a similar scenario after the incident.

In the future, coaches will no longer take action against them if they did not intend to touch the ball before it went out of play, but were instead awarded an indirect free kick.

IFAB chief and former Premier League referee David Elleray said the shift in rules has been made to ensure the laws are not “too draconian”.

“It's currently a direct free kick, or a penalty if it happens inside the penalty area, as was the case in a match in Germany a few years ago, and a red card,” he told the Sun.

“Of course the coach can still get a yellow card if he goes outside his technical area, but if the laws are applied rigorously, we think they are too draconian.”

Arteta is not the first coach to fall foul of the old law on managers interfering in the game in recent times. There have already been two other breaches this year via West Brom coach Carlos Corberan and Kilmarnock's Derek McInnes. In those cases, they were both sent away.

The law change must first be voted on at the next IFAB summit on March 1, after which it could be implemented for next season.

There will be another change in football laws surrounding the drop ball. Previously, a team in possession of the ball who lost the ball after their pass hit the referee would be awarded a drop ball. Now that drop ball would go to the opposition if possession looked like it was going to be wasted anyway.