The NCAA Men’s and Women’s Soccer Rules Committee proposed a change at its February 14-16 meeting in Indianapolis that should keep teams from stalling in the waning minutes of games.

If the rule is adopted, the clock will stop only for substitution by the team in the lead in the final five minutes of regulation.

“We heard from coaches this year that the current rule was encouraging the trailing team to make substitutions to stop the clock,” said rules committee Chair Steve Holeman, head women’s soccer coach at the University of Mississippi. “The change will prevent the losing team from extending time with multiple substitutions, and the winning team from wasting time. It will promote continuity in our games.”

That and all rules-change proposals must be approved by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel before being implemented into the rules book. All rules changes will be sent to coaches and commissioners for comment before being submitted to PROP for review in March.

Soccer rules committee members also voted to include language in next year’s rules book regarding penalties for contact with a referee. Such occurrences are becoming more frequent in all sports, not just soccer, and committee members wanted to create a deterrent through the playing rules.

Referee assault will carry a red card and a minimum three-game suspension. Any second occurrence of referee contact or any fight will be suspension for the remainder of the season.

“In a perfect world, we wouldn’t be having these discussions, but we hope this will put the membership on notice that contact with a referee will not be tolerated,” Holeman said.

In other actions, the committee determined that goalkeeper socks, which previously had to contrast with those worn by field players and referees, now must be distinguishable only from the opponent’s field players.

Another equipment-related change is that player shin guards will be required to bear the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) seal and be size appropriate according to the manufacturer’s label starting next season. That notice was listed in last year’s rules book, too.

Other proposals from the soccer rules committee include:

* Added an approved ruling to clarify reentry rights when the goalkeeper becomes a field player. The committee agreed that the player’s re-entry rights are determined by the position of the player just before being substituted.

* Agreed to adopt an international-rules interpretation stating that the position of a player’s head, body or feet — not the player’s arms — will be the deciding factor when calling offside.

* Clarified that the assistant referees, not just the referee, must sign the scoresheet to further verify that cards have been properly assessed. Also, the scorekeeper must track substitutions and inform the player and the referee of illegal substitutions.

* Voted that the goal lines must be the same width as the goal posts and crossbars. The rules already specify that the goal lines must be between 4 and 5 inches wide. The rule ensures that the goal line and goal posts and crossbars are consistent.