Free-kick spray: Premier League delays use of new initiative

Vanishing spray in use

Vanishing spray will not be introduced into the Premier League next season despite it being considered a success at the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil.

The new initiative marks out where a free-kick should be taken from and where the defensive wall must stand, aiming to prevent players cheating.

It will be used in the Champions League from next season.

But the Premier League and Football Association will monitor how effective that is before introducing it.

The FA remains open-minded about possible future use should it prove to be an overwhelming success.

But Premier League officials do not think encroachment or ball moving at set pieces is a significant problem in the competition.

The spray, which has been used in recent seasons in the Brazilian and Argentine leagues, evaporates about a minute after being administered from a canister by the match official.

The Football League has yet to comment on the vanishing spray.