A CONTROVERSIAL new false-start rule will be given its first televised test at a leading indoor athletics meeting in Glasgow next month.

The “one-strike” ruling, introduced this year by the IAAF, the sport’s world governing body, will be in force at the Norwich Union international on February 2, despite the reservations of top sprinters.

Under the new rule, only one false start will be allowed per race rather than per athlete, meaning that the second runner to make a false start will be automatically disqualified.

The IAAF made the change to prevent leading sprint finals being marred by endless false starts as competitors try to beat the clock.

“It puts a lot more pressure on athletes at the start of a race, already a high-pressure moment,” Mark Lewis-Francis, a leading British sprinter, said in a statement issued by UK Athletics yesterday.

UK Athletics will use the same team of officials for all its televised events during the indoor season as well as the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham in March.

David Moorcroft, the chief executive, said they would meet over the next couple of days to identify potential problems. “Any new rule change inevitably leads to some nervousness from athletes and we want to ease the fears of those competing in our events,” Moorcroft said.

“Using the same pool of properly briefed, experienced officials throughout the introduction phase will play a major role in doing that.”

The IAAF will closely monitor the new rule, receiving feedback from both officials and competitors over the coming months.