![]() This type of penalty shot does have its place (more on that later), but it’s not to decide a winner of a game. Personally I think this style of shootout is much more entertaining, and more fair, but it still amounts to a sort of All-Star game skills display, not suitable to decide the winner of a game, season, or in the most extreme case, a World Cup. No other sport allows something like a championship game to be decided in such a frankly ridiculous manner.Ī solution that has a bit more balanced odds between the keeper and shooter is the hockey-style shootout, used by the NASL in the 1970s and by MLS in its early years, where the shooter has 5 seconds to dribble in from 35 yards out and get a shot off, with the keeper allowed to come off their line and defend. Imagine working for an entire season, a career, even a lifetime in many cases, to have a chance at winning a major trophy as a player or coach (or a fan), only to lose in what amounts to an almost random skills contest. Though they have provided much drama and excitement (especially for neutrals), it’s tough to argue that the penalty shootout from the spot is a fair way to decide the winner of a match – especially when you consider that the method is only used to break a tie in knockout situations, which by definition are high-stakes games. ![]() ![]() Some are major changes, some are tweaks, but all of these could potentially enhance and elevate the game. So, let’s take a look at five other rule changes that could help improve the sport. As noble as these technological efforts have been, they are certainly not perfect and can cause just as much controversy as before, but some of that comes down to the rules of the game themselves – rules that leave a lot of human subjectivity in the process, and thus are subject to error. Over time the players change, the strategy changes, and sometimes, the rules must change as well to improve both the integrity and quality of the game.īut has it done enough, or perhaps too much?Īnother relatively recent addition to the sport is VAR (video assistant referee) and Goal Line Technology, intended to make sure results aren’t affected unjustly by incorrect or missed calls. It has grown and evolved with the times, just like every sport has. Soccer certainly isn’t the same game it was when it was first played in the 19th century. This was a temporary rule change adopted in 2020 as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it proved to be a successful and popular amendment to the laws of the game, enhancing player safety and giving teams more flexibility to make moves during a match. Recently, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) approved the permanent adoption of the use of five substitutes, giving top-level competitions the option to allow up to five subs in a match (restricted to three substitution windows, plus halftime).
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