Everyone loves the drama of a penalty, whether it be the last kick of the game, or the culmination of a frantic opening.The tension around the stadium is palpable. Everyone takes a deep breath at the exact same time, including the penalty taker, themselves. And, in the space of five vital seconds – or double that for Paul Pogba’s technique – that taker will either be wheeling away in celebration or placing their head in their hands inconsolably.Adding to that drama is the antics of goalkeepers, whose job it is to keep the ball out of the net, by any means possible. That could be waving their arms, touching the crossbar, or even wobbling their legs in what is never a natural movement – see Jerzey Dudek in Istanbul.Yet, despite the drama of a penalty miss, reports suggest that a new rule is set to come into play after Emiliano Martinez’s antics for Argentina in the 2022 World Cup. The new rule hands attacking players a huge advantage.

What is the new penalty rule?

According to Marca, via TheMadridZone, the new penalty rule will not allow goalkeepers to provoke penalty takers, delay the taking of the penalty, or touch the goal posts, net and crossbar.

We can hear Dudek’s cries of frustration from here, as he looks on and wonders what went wrong for the beautiful game. As of right now, it looks as though the rule will come into play at the start of the 2023/24 season.

The rule follows Martinez’s World Cup performance, which saw him help Argentina to a penalty shootout win over the Netherlands in the last eight, as well as France in one of the most dramatic finals of all time.

The goalkeeper was particularly distracting against France, even receiving a yellow card in the shootout. His tactics included rolling the ball away from France players, whilst also attempting to shout at them, before pulling out the sort of dance moves we’ve only ever seen before in Manchester United’s 2016 FA Cup final against Crystal Palace.

What other new rules are set to be introduced?

It’s not the only potential change for football, either, with Arsene Wenger’s proposed change to the offside rule set to undergo a trial run. Again, handing the advantage to goalscorers, it looks as though FIFA is looking to see the back of the net burst even more.

The new rule would mean that whenever any part of an attacker’s body that they can score with is in line with the last defender, they are onside. This hands them an extra yard or two on defenders, and would particularly make the high-line tactic of defences extremely difficult to execute.

So, what started with the removal of away goals in European football looks set to carry on with a chance to how penalties are taken and maybe the offside rule, altogether.

It will certainly be interesting to see how the changes go down among football fans, who may feel as though the game isn’t in need of fixing at all.