What one rule change you would make in football?

[AshtonRobin21]

An equal spending cap to be issued across the leagues, wages also. 

£10m max spend for each team in the division (championship). Clubs decide whether that justifies signing one £10m player, or one £5m player and two £2.5m players etc.

Prem would be allocated £50m max spend per team, League one £2m max spend, and League Two £1m max spend etc. 

This would bring the financial side of the game back down to reality. Parachute payments are destroying the EFL. Whilst the Mbappe contract extension proves how ridiculous things have become. 

[SydneyCity]

Ideally get rid of VAR but if it is kept, use it like in tennis with team captains having two opportunities to use it.

Post match review of games with a one game ban given to players who are deemed to have dived.

[GTFABM]

11 hours ago, LondonBristolian said:

I'd like to see a massive simplification of VAR.

A 3 person VAR review panel get to re-watch an incident a maximum of three times. If the panel unanimously agree a decision was wrong, it's a clear and obvious error and the decision is changed. If the review panel cannot agree after there replays, it is not clear and obvious and the referee's decision stands. 

Or just bin off VAR 

[Eddie Hitler]

Maximum player spending (wages and amortisation of transfer fees) in any year to be 200% of gate receipts for all teams.

[Mike Hunt-Hertz]

1 hour ago, Eddie Hitler said:

Maximum player spending (wages and amortisation of transfer fees) in any year to be 200% of gate receipts for all teams.

Not fair! That would unduly favour the hugely supported clubs like Manchester Utd, Liverpool and Bristol Rovers. 

Edited May 22, 2022 by Mike Hunt-Hertz

[BetterRedthanBlue]

I'd definitely have the yellow card for hounding the ref unless you're the captain. Every decision now has 3-4 players surrounding the ref.

I would also like to see a ref can move a free kick forward for constant backchat because you can guarantee that if you win a free kick on the half way line and due to backchat it gets moved to the edge of penalty area that would stop it.

[Eddie Hitler]

33 minutes ago, Mike Hunt-Hertz said:

Not fair! That would unduly favour the hugely supported clubs like Manchester Utd, Liverpool and Bristol Rovers. 

 

It would only favour Rovers if they were allowed to include an imputed gate receipt for the tens of thousands locked out and standing in the car park for each game.

[SecretSam]

VAR checks on the screens at the game

[cider hoss rules]

Red cards for those ‘good yellow cards, took one for the team’ 

The deliberate trips, shirt pull backs with no attempt to play the ball or try a legitimate tackle.

Also some ‘common sense’ to be applied to red card that are attempts to tackle just badly timed or win the ball and take the opponent out with the follow through.

Reckless or dangerous tackles still deserve red, but some red cards are a joke.

Edited May 22, 2022 by cider hoss rules
Typo

[The dastardly red]

10 hours ago, Ronnie Sinclair said:

Get rid of that ridiculous plinth the match ball sits on by the touchline before kick-off

Whoa whoa, hold on a sec. That plinth's alright.

[Maltshoveller]

43 minutes ago, cider hoss rules said:

Red cards for those ‘good yellow cards, took one for the team’ 

The deliberate trips, shirt pull backs with no attempt to play the ball or try a legitimate tackle.

Also some ‘common sense’ to be applied to red card that are attempts to tackle just badly timed or win the ball and take the opponent out with the follow through.

Reckless or dangerous tackles still deserve red, but some red cards are a joke.

In one sentence you say Some red cards are a joke

Yet in another you want red cards for pulling a shirt!!!!

[The Wild Bunch]

Play off changes.  In the Championship:

Match 1: 5th (home) v 6th

Match 2:  4th (home) v winner of match 1

Final: 3rd (home) v winner of match 2

[JackofromSanJavier]

The "10 yard" rule at free kicks.  It would be nice to see a ref actually take 10 meaningful paces after placing the ball, to show a reasonable guess at a proper 10 yards, rather than the seemingly disinterested 9 shambling shuffles. 

Otherwise give the ref a digital laser measure.  From the placing of the ball, make a member of the defending side stand on the exact 10 yard dot and the ref then walks to him before spraying the line.  If the defending player moves during the ref's approach, shine the ba5stard laser in his eyes!  

The current 10 yard amble absolutely boils my waters - but I am a grumpy old bugger anyway.

Edited May 22, 2022 by JackofromSanJavier
typo

[cider hoss rules]

3 hours ago, Maltshoveller said:

In one sentence you say Some red cards are a joke

Yet in another you want red cards for pulling a shirt!!!!

No, I’m saying where there is no attempt to tackle/play the ball, the deliberate cynical fouls should be red not yellow

[Tinmans Love Child]

The player who wins the penalty has to take the penalty

[Lanterne Rouge]

1 hour ago, Tinmans Love Child said:

The player who wins the penalty has to take the penalty

With the player who gave it away going in goal.

[The Bard]

8 hours ago, The Wild Bunch said:

Play off changes.  In the Championship:

Match 1: 5th (home) v 6th

Match 2:  4th (home) v winner of match 1

Final: 3rd (home) v winner of match 2

I'd go further and include teams from the higher league.  

So between Championship and League 1 you would have 2 up automatically with 2 relegated automatically. I'd then have 2 further places in the Championship up for grabs.  One off games only. 2 Play off finals.

Play off Final 1.  4th bottom Championship home to 3rd League 1. Winner promoted. Loser gets 2nd go in Play off Final 2 at Wembley. 

4 different teams compete to get to play off Final 2. 3rd bottom Championship,  4th , 5th & 6th league 1.

5th  L1 v 22nd champ

4th L1 v 6th L1

2 winners then play further game, winner goes to Wembley for play off Final 2.

Still 5 games in total but all one off.

[redsquirrel]

ref to stamp on diving players to make sure they are injured

[italian dave]

On the whole I’m not a fan of constant tinkering with the rules. But I think one of the best things that’s been introduced in recent years is the white paint spray refs use to mark the spot for the free kick and the 10 yard (ish!) line.

I remember before they used it the endless time taken up stopping the player taking of from moving it forward and stopping the defending wall from shuffling forward. 

[Redtucks]

18 hours ago, GTFABM said:

Or just bin off VAR 

Nothing wrong with VAR in principle,  if it gets the correct decision.

The main problem is the way that it's operated in football. 

It seems to work OK in rugby, cricket and tennis.

 

[Redtucks]

11 minutes ago, redsquirrel said:

ref to stamp on diving players to make sure they are injured

Stamp out diving!!!

 

[downendcity]

19 minutes ago, redsquirrel said:

ref to stamp on diving players to make sure they are injured

2 friends decide to go on a hunting holiday to Canada.

One day they are in the forest when one of them is attacked by a bear. His mate had previously  noticed a phone nearby, so runs to it to call the forest rangers, When he gets through the ranger asks how he can help.

‘My mate’s  been attacked by a bear and I think he’s dead. What should I do?"

The ranger says “ the first thing is to make sure your friend is dead.

There’s a minutes silence and then the ranger hears a gunshot.

Another minute goes by and the guy is back on the phone. “Done that” he says, “what do I do next"

[BLRed]

Biggest one for me, especially in the football league is make the referees accountable for their in-game decisions. They get away with terrible refereeing time and time again and all that happens are apology letters from the FA without anything truly being done about it. Yet manager bemoaning said mistakes get heavily fined. 
I reckon if they aren’t going to improve the standard of refereeing, then each manager should get 2-3 decision challenges per game, whereby a video referee is called upon. If the challenger is correct, decision over ruled and they keep the challenge like in cricket.

[Davefevs]

6 hours ago, BLRed said:

Biggest one for me, especially in the football league is make the referees accountable for their in-game decisions. They get away with terrible refereeing time and time again and all that happens are apology letters from the FA without anything truly being done about it. Yet manager bemoaning said mistakes get heavily fined. 
I reckon if they aren’t going to improve the standard of refereeing, then each manager should get 2-3 decision challenges per game, whereby a video referee is called upon. If the challenger is correct, decision over ruled and they keep the challenge like in cricket.

Yep, take the decision away from the ref / Stockley Park, pass it back to managers / players / captain.

We will then see a bit of accountability from players re diving, holding, etc.  Managers won’t be happy losing a review to a cheating player.

Also if you see a ref constantly having his decisions reviewed and changed then the ref can see that he needs to improve his decision making.

[richwwtk]

Make players pay their agents, rather than the clubs.

[TedsHeadIs Red]

If you roll around the floor in apparent agony for more than 5 seconds then you are obviously seriously injured and should be compulsorily substituted. 

[SecretSam]

There's some great ideas on here, particularly the yellow cards for hounding/swearing at the ref - works well in rugby (and you can question decisions, if you are captain - and ask nicely). Similarly, the egg chasers have a rule about moving the kick if someone mouths off - great idea.

VAR is in theory a good idea, but unlike rugby, cricket, etc. it isn't incorporated into the game. They make it part of the spectacle; do the same for football. Show what the VAR officials can see - every ground has a big screen now.

[Bristol Rob]

Rather than employing expensive nutrionists and dietitians, at half time the players can only rehydrate by means of a cup of tea and a segment of orange.

Anyone attempting to use one of those sports drinks isn't allowed out for the second half.

['Pack' It In]

10 min break before an injured player can be subbed/return to field to assess player properly. May stop players feigning an injury.

If stretchered off, the player needs substituting immediately.

[Laner]

2 hours ago, SecretSam said:

There's some great ideas on here, particularly the yellow cards for hounding/swearing at the ref - works well in rugby (and you can question decisions, if you are captain - and ask nicely). Similarly, the egg chasers have a rule about moving the kick if someone mouths off - great idea.

VAR is in theory a good idea, but unlike rugby, cricket, etc. it isn't incorporated into the game. They make it part of the spectacle; do the same for football. Show what the VAR officials can see - every ground has a big screen now.

Works in rugby as the captains tend to be closer to the ref when the decision is made. Not the same in football. Depending where the incident takes place, we could have defenders and goal keepers having to run half the length of the field (or more) to speak nicely to the ref.

[The Dolman Pragmatist]

11 hours ago, BLRed said:

Biggest one for me, especially in the football league is make the referees accountable for their in-game decisions. They get away with terrible refereeing time and time again and all that happens are apology letters from the FA without anything truly being done about it. Yet manager bemoaning said mistakes get heavily fined. 
I reckon if they aren’t going to improve the standard of refereeing, then each manager should get 2-3 decision challenges per game, whereby a video referee is called upon. If the challenger is correct, decision over ruled and they keep the challenge like in cricket.

So who’s going to want to be a referee?  The fact is that referee’s are human (in all sports) and just like players, they make mistakes.  Would you make players accountable for every mistake they make?  Would you fine players for making mistakes? Obviously if a referee is shown to be consistently falling short of an agreed standard that would need to be dealt with, but, as in grassroots football, the decision of the officials needs to be taken as final. It’s part of the game, it’s part of life.  Referees making mistakes, like players and managers making mistakes, is just part of football.

[TBW]

Stop the clock when the ball goes out of play. 

[Clutton Caveman]

Bring back the obstruction rule

[TBW]

On 21/05/2022 at 17:22, The Horse With No Name said:

You have to remember that any rule change has be applied to the game, right down to parks level and youth football. How would your suggestion work lower than say League 1 level, where there are no academies ?

No it doesn't. 

Premier League is going to have more subs than the Championship next season... 

[beaverface]

Im not a fan of VAR and would scrap it, but if it is to remain I'd like the offside decisions to be relative to the distances involved.

For example, the attacking player may have half of his foot ahead of the defender, but the defender could be three paces to the left\right of the attacker, so that half a foot distance isn't making a difference to the attack as the defender would never be able to reach the attacker anyway.

[Davefevs]

45 minutes ago, Bristol Rob said:

Rather than employing expensive nutrionists and dietitians, at half time the players can only rehydrate by means of a cup of tea and a segment of orange.

Anyone attempting to use one of those sports drinks isn't allowed out for the second half.

PG have just announced they have created an isotonic teabag!!!

[SecretSam]

1 hour ago, Laner said:

Works in rugby as the captains tend to be closer to the ref when the decision is made. Not the same in football. Depending where the incident takes place, we could have defenders and goal keepers having to run half the length of the field (or more) to speak nicely to the ref.

Not suggesting it would be the captain, per se, but the manner in which it's asked - one player, asking the ref - would be good to see

[downendcity]

14 minutes ago, SecretSam said:

Not suggesting it would be the captain, per se, but the manner in which it's asked - one player, asking the ref - would be good to see

This type of manner?

" Excuse me, Mr Referee sir. I wonder whether you'd be minded to reconsider the decision you've just made to penalise my team, and which puts us in a bit of a predicament?"

 

 

 

 

" So that's a flat no then? You *******, ******* cheating nobhead!"

 

[nebristolred]

I get the sentiment for a lot of these suggestions but in practice I really don't think many of them are workable. The referee 'challenges' for example - great idea, but we already have VAR slowing games down. If we have referees being challenged at least 6 times a game (and probably more), the game would be even slower than it is now.

Similarly with agents being paid by players not clubs, I absolutely agree but we all know if any change was brought in, clubs would just pay their players the difference in order to cover the agent fee.

As annoying as it is when things go against you, I do worry about 'over'-refereeing. Part of the excitement of the game is the controversy, the randomness, that sort of thing. The minute you make every single decision perfect, you lose an entire element of the game. Can you imagine if Matty Taylor v Man Utd was challenged and we had to sit for 5 minutes deciding whether it was a goal or not? An entire moment taken away from you.

I get the reasoning, but it's not for me.

[Super]

3 hours ago, TedsHeadIs Red said:

If you roll around the floor in apparent agony for more than 5 seconds then you are obviously seriously injured and should be compulsorily substituted. 

Alex Scott will suffer badly.

[HiddenGem7]

I'd like to see retrospective 3 match bans for clear diving i.e. no contact made at all.

Also not a rule as such but really liked when Lee Johnson wrote to all the clubs in our league saying we wouldn't kick the ball out if their players go down - that seemed to make a big difference to time-wasting.

[maxjak]

On 21/05/2022 at 18:14, East Londoner said:

Simplify the offside rule, if you’re ahead of the last defender you’re offside regardless of whether you’re interfering or not 

Also, while theyr'e at it..............sort out the handball rule too?

[Show Me The Money!]

Not a rule change as such but about the best way to get the prem clubs take the FA Cup more seriously would be to give the 4th champions league spot to the cup winners. Or even a league cup versus fa cup playing for the champions league spot. 

[Cowshed]

17 hours ago, BLRed said:

Biggest one for me, especially in the football league is make the referees accountable for their in-game decisions. They get away with terrible refereeing time and time again and all that happens are apology letters from the FA without anything truly being done about it. Yet manager bemoaning said mistakes get heavily fined. 
I reckon if they aren’t going to improve the standard of refereeing, then each manager should get 2-3 decision challenges per game, whereby a video referee is called upon. If the challenger is correct, decision over ruled and they keep the challenge like in cricket.

Referees are promoted and demoted, or not retained on the basis of their decisions. This starts at level eight and goes through thirteen levels (there are 2a/2b etc).

No referee gets away with terrible refereeing time after time at any level. If you are poor you do not get retained, above level three you get demoted.  

[Rich]

The rule where an injured player has to leave the pitch if treated. This is especially annoying if the player has been injured by an opponent and a foul was committed, resulting in a free kick. The offending team get to keep their eleven players on the pitch, while the player fouled and injured has to leave the pitch, utterly stupid. Take the offending player off as well, until the injured player or substitute rejoins play.

[AppyDAZE]

THE one thing that gets on my tits more than anything else in the game is where a defending player, in his own half, especially if anywhere near his own penalty box and facing his own goal, is allowed to just drop to the ground and...  peep, free-kick regardless of whether there's been much "contact" or not. Really, really annoying.

Edited May 23, 2022 by AppyDAZE

[bcfcredandwhite]

 Not a ‘rule’ per say, but I wondered if in knockout games like playoffs, the teams should take the penalty shootouts BEFORE the game. 
it might make the open play more interesting - particularly the Extra Time period?

just thought I’d put it out there…….

[gornagain]

Parachute payments should only be used to cover a proportion of current contracts. Any new signings or renegotiated contracts should be funded from normal club income.

 

[Leveller]

A couple of people have mentioned it, and I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of completely scrapping offside. 
 

In theory it would open up more space on the pitch, but of course could utterly change the basic structure and tactics of the sport.

It works with 5 a side and ice hockey though, so I’d like to see an experiment.

Does anybody know when and why it was originally introduced? I know it was revised quite early on.

[Rich]

21 hours ago, bcfcredandwhite said:

 Not a ‘rule’ per say, but I wondered if in knockout games like playoffs, the teams should take the penalty shootouts BEFORE the game. 
it might make the open play more interesting - particularly the Extra Time period?

just thought I’d put it out there…….

Am I correct in thinking we lost a penalty shoot out at Walsall, to decide where the play off replay was to be held?

[cider hoss rules]

5 minutes ago, Rich said:

Am I correct in thinking we lost a penalty shoot out at Walsall, to decide where the play off replay was to be held?

Sounds right, I also recollect one away at Cambridge in the FA cup reply to decide where the second replay should be played........ you know, the one we lost 5-1!

[Lanterne Rouge]

On 26/05/2022 at 19:11, cider hoss rules said:

Sounds right, I also recollect one away at Cambridge in the FA cup reply to decide where the second replay should be played........ you know, the one we lost 5-1!

The Walsall one was but I think Cambridge was a coin toss. I remember waiting to hear what the result was before we got back on the coach thoroughly made up that we had to go back to Cambridge a week later!

[Red7]

I'd abolish those last few minutes of the game plus injury time, given our recent record of conceding late goals.

 

[big dosser]

no slow run ups for taking pens,

[Red-Robbo]

Retrospective cards for diving.  Each professional game would automatically be retrospectively viewed by a qualified official with the ability to pause the camera shots and zoom in.  If you dive in the penalty area it's an automatic red.  This would be a routine part of the game, rather than the exception when a club complains loud enough. 

[Numero Uno]

All non-English teams like Cardiff, Swansea, Newport and Liverpool to play in their own country’s domestic leagues.

[Supersonic Robin]

Some rather extreme suggestions on this thread! It seems some people want:

• No offside rule and 10+ goals per game
• Yellow and red cards brandished for any and every infringement
• 3 year bans and potential death penalty for diving

Personally, I rather like football as it is - no need for any major rule changes. I like the drama brought about by football being a low scoring game, and the huge value that each goal has as a result. I like the fact that players can "push boundaries" in trying to gain a competitive edge without being severely cautioned. I even quite like some of the dubious gamesmanship involved in trying to win a football match.

Were you to implement many of the changes suggested in this thread, I think you'd be in danger of losing a lot of the drama, character and competitiveness of football.