The Azzurri had a morning session of lessons following the day’s first training session where they met UEFA chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina in order to study the rule changes introduced by the IFAB (International Football Association Board). The updates to the rules went live on Wednesday 1st June and they will therefore apply to Euro 2016 in France.
Europe’s governing body has held meetings to keep all national sides competing in the finals of Euro 2016 up-to-date on the matter and today’s session was held at the training base at Coverciano. “I have participated in meetings with other national sides and I have to say the truth, today there was a lot of good interaction because I saw players who were very interested in understanding the terms I was talking about,” said the former referee from Viareggio. “These meetings allow footballers to better understand how referees interpret things. Players can therefore do their job at the highest level and referees also.”
Photo: figc.it
Collina demonstrated the most recent changes to the rules with special focus on the so-called ‘triple sanction’. In other words, an outfield player or goalkeeper at Euro 2016 who makes an honest attempt to play the ball inside the area but arrives late and commits a foul, without it being violent, will no longer be punished with a red card, the conceding of a penalty and a suspension for the next game. Instead, they will only be punished with a booking and the awarding of a penalty kick. Other changes demonstrated included: The removal of automatic bookings for handball when it interrupts opposition play, the option for injured players to stay on the field of play if treatment is brief and punishment for challenges in which a player wins the ball in a tackle but also jeopardises the health of the opponent.
There was another UEFA programme immediately after on the subject of match fixing. Director from the FIGC’s competition office Giovanni Spitaleri showed the Azzurri regulations that exist in France which are expected to be followed in Italy.
==============================
Ticket option for Italy National team games
==============================