ACB to introduce unusual rule for next season / News - Basketnews.com

Spanish ACB has decided to introduce a new inbound rule for the upcoming season.

Credit: ZUMAPRESS.com - Scanpix Credit ZUMAPRESS.com - Scanpix

The Spanish ACB has decided to try out a new inbound rule for the upcoming season.

The new rule says that the referee does not have to touch the ball for an inbound play in their own half of the court. The rule has already been used in preseason games.

According to ACB, the rule is introduced to give more fluidity to the game. ACB has explained the new rule change in detail:

"During the first 38 minutes of the match, it will not be necessary for the referees to touch the ball before an inbound for the attacking team's own courtside, and the players can put it into play immediately, without interruptions, thus facilitating a quick restart of the game and possibly more counterattacks and transitions."

The new rule has been validated by FIBA.

The video below shows an example of the new inbound rule in action, which took place in a preseason-friendly game between Joventut BadalonaandBAXI Manresa.

As you can find in this article, NBA and FIBA basketball have many different rules, but European national leagues have the same rules as any international FIBA competition. This change makes ACB unique in that way.

In addition, ACB will also introduce a coach challenge for the upcoming season, which EuroLeague introduced the last season.

Per ACB's press release, the coaches will have more weight in the instant replay, and the situations for direct reviews by the referees are reduced.

The changes are explained in detail by the ACB:

"The ACB increases the number of 'Challenges' for each coach to two (it keeps them if the previous refereeing decision changes and loses them if it is confirmed) and limits the cases in which the referees may go to review one play unless requested by the coaches, until the last two minutes of the game.

During the first 38 minutes, the referees will noticeably reduce the situations in which they may decide to go to instant replay. The review of the other actions, including the check of whether it is a normal or unsportsmanlike foul (almost 40% of the reviews last season), may only be at the request of the coaches.

In the last two minutes and in overtime, the referees will be able to go to the instant replay in all the foreseen cases, and the coaches will see a 'Challenge' taken away: if they had two, they would be able to request one in the last two minutes, and if they only had one they will lose it."

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