Measures designed to combat time-wasting and prolonged delays during football matches are being considered by the International Football Association Board (IFAB).
The issue was brought to the fore once again by Cardiff City's match against Burnley in the Premier League on Sunday, during which the ball was in play for just 42 minutes and two seconds of the 90-minute match -- the lowest amount of playing time in a single game in England's top flight for five years.
More than eight minutes in the match were spent waiting for Cardiff defender Sean Morrison to take long throw-ins. He took 20 in total during the game, with the longest taking 37 seconds to be delivered.
Referees already have the power to punish players found to be deliberately disrupting the pace and rhythm of play with yellow cards, but this has not prevented time-wasting from becoming an increasing area of concern.
In a statement to ESPN FC, IFAB confirmed that among the measures being discussed are "enforcing six-seconds rule for goalkeepers, stricter calculation of additional time or substitutes leaving the field of play at the nearest point of the boundary line," rather than walking slowly across the pitch.
Another proposal included for discussion was the "effective playing time" method, whereby a clock in the stadium would measure 60 minutes of actual playing time, but IFAB clarified that "it was ruled out for the time being after initial deliberations last year."
The next edition of IFAB's annual meeting will be held in Scotland in March, where all proposed law changes or trials must be officially sanctioned.
The Football Association and Premier League declined to comment when contacted by ESPN FC.