Goalkeeper injury trial: how the one-minute rule works

From 21 August 2026, a player who needs on-field treatment or assessment has to leave the pitch and stay off for at least one minute after play restarts, up from the old 30 seconds, and the goalkeeper injury trial goes further: when play stops for a keeper, an outfield player is taken off for that minute instead. The one-minute rule is aimed at feigned injuries, and the goalkeeper injury trial is its sharpest form because it removes the keeper from the trade-off entirely. This is how the one-minute rule and the goalkeeper injury trial work in 2026/27, including the exceptions that keep the keeper protected.

How the one-minute treatment rule works

Any player who receives on-field treatment or assessment must leave the field and stay off for at least one minute after play restarts. The old limit was 30 seconds. During that minute the team plays with ten, so the stoppage now carries a price.

The mechanism is straightforward. Play stops, the physio runs on, and when the ball is back in play the treated player has to wait out the full minute on the touchline before returning. If the player was genuinely hurt, a minute on the sideline is a small inconvenience for a free stoppage. If they were exaggerating or buying time, it is a cost that stops being worth paying. That is the whole point of the change.

The one-minute floor is measured from the restart, not from the moment the physio arrives. That detail is where most of the confusion starts: the minute does not tick while the player is being treated, it ticks once play has resumed.

How the goalkeeper injury trial works

The goalkeeper injury trial has IFAB approval and runs across the English men's and women's professional game. When play stops because of a goalkeeper injury, the manager nominates an outfield player to leave immediately. That player stays off for one minute after the restart, the side plays that minute with ten, and the keeper receives treatment and stays on.

The design solves the problem the one-minute rule creates for the one position it should not touch. A goalkeeper is the least substitutable player on the pitch, and making the club's most protected player sit out the minute would replace one problem with another. The trial avoids that by taking an outfield player off instead.

The manager's nomination is the tactical heart of the trial. Losing a winger for a minute is different from losing a centre-half, and a side protecting a lead might nominate a player in the final third while a side chasing the game protects the back line. The rule does not dictate who goes. It hands the decision to the bench.

Three exceptions are precise. A free kick awarded for a foul on the keeper, where the keeper requires immediate treatment, falls outside the trial. A collision where both players need attention falls outside it. A bleeding keeper falls outside it. In those cases the trial does not apply.

What changed and why

The one-minute rule replaces a 30-second limit that had stopped meaning anything. A player could go down, draw the physio on, and be back inside half a minute, which made an injury stoppage almost cost-free. The 2026/27 law is one of several changes in the 2026/27 rule updates, and the longer floor is the enforcement: the malingerer pays a full minute at ten men.

The goalkeeper trial is the same philosophy with the keeper protected, and goalkeepers get extra cover elsewhere in the 2026/27 points of emphasis. Attackers who make unnecessary contact with a goalkeeper, with no genuine attempt to play the ball, will be penalised. The two changes run together: less tolerance for contact without a real attempt, and a rule that keeps the keeper in the game when the treatment is real.

The trial having IFAB approval matters. It is not a Premier League invention. It has been sanctioned at the level of the law-making body and applies across the English men's and women's professional game, so the same trial will be in force at every level of the English game this season. The 2026/27 season itself runs from 21 August 2026 to 30 May 2027, which makes this the first full campaign under both rules.

Edge cases and common confusions

The biggest confusion is thinking the goalkeeper leaves the pitch. The trial never takes the keeper off. It takes an outfield player off, and the one-man penalty is paid by the nominated player while the keeper is treated.

The second confusion is reading the exceptions as a list of injuries. They are not. Bleeding is one, and a collision that leaves both players needing attention is another, but the foul exception only applies when the keeper needs immediate treatment. A keeper who has been fouled but is fine is not covered by it.

Managers will also be working out how the trial interacts with substitutions. The existing allowance is five substitutions per match, made in a maximum of three windows plus half-time. The nominated player in the trial is off for one minute and returns, so the trial does not burn a substitution or a window. It is a temporary reshuffle, not a change of personnel.

The trial sits inside a package of timing laws that all pull in the same direction. The substitution rules now include a 10-second limit for a player to leave the pitch, with the replacement unable to enter until the first stoppage after a full minute has elapsed if it is exceeded. Throw-ins and goal kicks face a five-second countdown, with a delayed throw-in going to the opposition and a delayed goal kick conceding a corner. Every one of these is a clock attached to a cost, and the goalkeeper trial is the version that applies to the most important player on the pitch.

What it means for managers and teams

The tactical questions start with the nomination. Choosing who leaves for a minute is choosing which part of the pitch to weaken, and the choice itself says something about how a team wants to play the minute. Teams will have a prepared answer before the season starts, because the trial makes the decision live rather than theoretical.

The five-substitution allowance matters here in a way it did not before. With five subs available in a maximum of three windows plus half-time, a manager can reshape the side around the minute, but the trial does not require it. The simplest response is to play the sixty seconds down a man and let the player return, which is exactly the design: the minute is survivable, and the keeper is protected.

The feigned-injury incentive is the deeper point. Under the old 30-second rule, a keeper who went down late in a match gave the team a free pause and conceded nothing. Under the goalkeeper injury trial, that pause costs a named outfield player a full minute off the pitch, so the cost of the stunt has gone up while the benefit has not changed. That is the trade the laws are trying to break.

FAQ

How long must a player stay off the pitch after treatment? A player receiving on-field treatment or assessment must leave the field and stay off for at least one minute after play restarts, up from the previous 30 seconds. The team plays with ten for that minute.

Does a goalkeeper have to leave the pitch when injured? No. Under the goalkeeper injury trial, when play stops for a goalkeeper injury the manager nominates an outfield player to leave immediately and stay off for one minute after the restart. The keeper receives treatment and stays on.

What are the exceptions to the goalkeeper injury trial? A free kick awarded for a foul on the keeper that requires immediate treatment, a collision where both players need attention, and a bleeding goalkeeper. In those cases the trial does not apply.

Does the trial apply in the women's game? Yes. The goalkeeper injury trial has IFAB approval and runs across the English men's and women's professional game.

Key takeaways

• The one-minute treatment rule replaces the 30-second limit for every player from 21 August 2026.
• Under the goalkeeper injury trial, the manager nominates an outfield player to leave for one minute while the keeper stays and is treated.
• Three exceptions exist: a foul free kick needing immediate treatment, a collision involving both players, and a bleeding goalkeeper.
• The trial does not use a substitution: five subs remain available, made in a maximum of three windows plus half-time.
• The goalkeeper injury trial has IFAB approval and covers the English men's and women's professional game for the 2026/27 season.