FIFA has no plans to introduce new measures to address the growing issue of grappling and holding at corners after the game’s lawmakers — the International Football Association Board (IFAB) — said the problem is “not getting worse.”

Premier League fixtures are now becoming dominated by increasingly physical actions at corners, notably players forcefully grappling, blocking, shoving and crowding out goalkeepers before the ball has been delivered into the penalty box.

Liverpool coach Arne Slot said the Premier League is no longer a “joy to watch” due to the situation with corners, while Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens said after his team’s 1-0 win at Everton last week, when the home side had 10 corners during the game, that he was forced to “stand behind my line in order to come out” due to players from both teams grappling in the six-yard box.

Premier League leaders Arsenal have scored 16 goals direct from corners this season — a sequence which equals the all-time Premier League record — and Mikel Arteta’s team have been criticised for their physical approach when attacking corners.

But following an IFAB summit in Cardiff at the weekend, when new measures designed to reduce time-wasting around throw-ins and goalkicks were confirmed, the issues of physical issues at corners was not deemed to be serious enough to address.

“It wasn’t something that we specifically talked about,” Scottish FA CEO and IFAB member Ian Maxwell said. “Whether there’s been a change in that type of behaviour during matches, those things happen over the course of a season, but I’m not sure it’s necessarily getting worse.”

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With the laws of game stating that the ball is not in play until a set-piece has been taken, referees are unable to give a foul unless the game is active.

But despite that technicality in the rulebook, Maxwell said that officials are still able to act within the Laws once the ball is in play.

“It’s obviously in the protocol because it would effectively be a penalty potentially if there’s grappling at a corner,” Maxwell said. “So within the current protocol, that can be assessed.”