Dublin - Football's rulemakers have given the go ahead for for the extension of an additional assistant referees experiment while a controversial proposal to extend the half-time break from 15 to 20 minutes has been dropped.

The International FA Board (IFAB) agreed the move at its annual general meeting in Newcastle in Northern Ireland.

"After having received a report on the experiment involving additional assistant referees conducted during UEFA U-19 European Championship qualifying tournaments in October and November 2008, the members of the Board gave permission for the continuation of FIFA's experiment with additional assistant referees, this time in a professional league," said the IFAB in a statement.

FIFA withdrew its proposal to extend the maximum duration of the half-time interval while IFAB agreed that the proposal to increase the maximum number of substitutions in the event of extra time should be discussed by the relevant FIFA committees.

The meeting also decided that one member of the coaching staff be allowed to stay in the technical area after giving tactical instructions to their team.

Furthermore, it was decided that if a team has more players on the field than their opponents at the start of a penalty shoot-out, the other team has to reduce their own numbers to ensure parity.

The IFAB are made up of representatives of the four associations from the United Kingdom, who each have a vote, and Fifa, who have four. A three-quarter majority is required for any proposal to be passed. (dpa)