admin‘Eight seconds’ – Fabian Hurzeler makes Crystal Palace complaint and calls for rule change
Brighton manager Fabian Hürzeler has called for a new rule to limit the time taken for throw-ins following his side’s goalless draw with rivals Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
The match at Selhurst Park was dominated by Palace’s repeated use of long throws from Jefferson Lerma, which consistently tested Brighton’s defence.
While Hürzeler praised his players for handling the aerial threat well, he voiced frustration over the time wasted during these set-piece routines.
“It completely kills the rhythm,” Hürzeler told Sky Sports after the match. “It takes far too long for each throw-in — sometimes close to a minute.
We need another rule for that. We already restrict goalkeepers to eight seconds, which works well, so why not apply something similar to throw-ins?”
Brighton captain Lewis Dunk also acknowledged how difficult Lerma’s long throws were to deal with.
“They go a very long way, and Palace have big players attacking them,” he said. “It was a real team effort to defend those situations.”
The other big talking point came when Georginio Rutter was shown a yellow card for diving in the second half. The referee had initially awarded Brighton a penalty, but VAR intervened to overturn the decision and book Rutter for simulation.
Asked about the incident, Hürzeler admitted he hadn’t seen a replay. “In the first half there were many small fouls like that,” he said. “I can’t comment until I’ve watched it back. VAR made the decision to overturn the penalty, and we have to accept that.”
Despite the controversy, Hürzeler felt his side did enough to take all three points. “We deserved the draw, maybe even more,” he added. “I wouldn’t say it was a missed opportunity — it’s a derby, and the players gave everything. But we did create chances and were the better team overall.”
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