Penalty-feinting, goal-line technology on IFAB agenda

Football's rule-making body will discuss the use of goal-line technology, players feinting in the run-up to take penalties and extra linesmen behind the goals at its meeting in March.

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) will also consider changes to rules concerning the treatment of injured players, according to the agenda published by FIFA, and debate an end to automatic sendings-off for players who deny the opposition a goal-scoring chance.

Pressure has been mounting to allow the use of technology, especially after the Thierry Henry handball incident during November's World Cup qualifying play-off between France and Ireland.

Henry twice handled the ball in the run-up to France's decisive goal in their 2-1 aggregate win but the match referee did not see it.

The IFAB will also discuss the experiment in this year's Europa League, where an extra linesman has been placed behind each goal to help the referee spot infringements in the penalty area.

Feinting in the run-up to penalties - currently permitted unless the referee considers it to be unsporting behaviour - came to prominence with an ugly incident during the African Nations Cup.

Algeria goalkeeper Fawzi Chaouchi, enraged when Egypt's Hosni Abd Rabou feinted before stroking his spot kick into the net, chased the referee, grabbed him from behind and head-butted him before being dragged away by team-mates.

Referee Bonaventure Coffi Codjia was suspended for failing to dismiss Chaouchi in the incident, although the Algeria goalkeeper was later sent off for a second bookable offence in their 4-0 semi-final defeat.