27 Mar 2026 10:32:29
What does everyone think of the rules being introduced at the FIFA World Cup? These are to avoid timewasting supposedly and let the game flow better.
I have copy and pasted these from Instagram, so apologies if any are incorrect.
They are as follows:
Substituted players must exit within 10 seconds, or the replacement waits 1 minute before entering.
Throw-ins must be taken within 5 seconds - if takes longer, then the possession will go to the opponents.
Players who receive medical treatment must leave the pitch for 1 minute before returning in-game.
VAR can now review second yellow cards and corner kick decisions — if there is a ‘clear and obvious error’.
Thanks.
27 Mar 2026 10:57:08
I think these rules will be great when they are introduced to the Premier League and the refs adhere to them for the first 4 weeks of the season only.
27 Mar 2026 11:07:44
These rule changes will have Premier referees suffering with anxiety and stress if they have to police the new rules, they find it difficult enough to cope with the rules in situ, which in most cases they can not implement. YNWA.
27 Mar 2026 11:56:48
Can't wait to see the 3 minute long decision making for if it was a corner or not.
27 Mar 2026 12:04:01
I guess it's one of those where it's good in theory and then you remember it's a bunch of muppets trying to put them in place. ?
27 Mar 2026 12:22:59
Don't see the 5s throw in or 10s subs being rigoursly enforced for some reason.
27 Mar 2026 12:33:00
The logical answer to time wafting is stopping the clock every time the ball goes dead. Then there's no advantage to wasting time.
27 Mar 2026 13:32:18
I don't get the throw in one. Just stop the clock for throw ins until the ball is in play, same for keepers. Stop the clock until the keeper kicks or throws it into play. Stops time wasting without stopping players/keepers genuinely looking for the right throw/goal kick. Re the one where players who receive treatment going off for a minute, seems to me it mainly affects the generally injured players.
There's a foul, player needs treatment, and the benefit goes to the team who committed the foul, the other going to 10.
Men, it's the players who
Roll around for a minute and get up just before physios come on who are the prob. For me, again stop the clock, add the time on! Any "time wasting" is irrelevant if the ref "Stops time". You might get a spike in length of injury time at first, but players will still learn.
27 Mar 2026 14:50:22
I am in favour as long as they will enforce them.
Would also like something doing about the grappling, faking of head injuries and the way players like Gabriel and Saliba buy fouls for the slightest contact.
27 Mar 2026 15:11:32
I'm in favour of them but Slot will ruin the World Cup.
27 Mar 2026 15:51:07
I agree. I think any rule changes will just be eventually exploited to the advantage of teams who aren't taking the throw, they'll find a way to s***house through it.
Stop the clock leaves zero room for cheating and zero room to exploit.
You'd probs have to put a time limit of some sorts though, so they can't take the p@ss to slow momentum down.
Basically, gamesmanship is being taken to new levels every season and sucking the enjoyment out of the game.
27 Mar 2026 15:56:43
Time wasting isn't just about running the clock down, it's also about disrupting the momentum of your opponent, so simply stopping the clock when the ball's out of play isn't good enough imo.
I personally like these rules, but I feel like they will be just as inconsistently enforced as the existing rules.
27 Mar 2026 16:25:34
Stopping the clock seems like an obvious solution but Arsenal games would be about 140 minutes long a la American sports. Next, we will be watching commercials during the games, so be careful what you wish for.
The 8 second rule with the keepers seems to have been a success, so apply that to throw-ins. Some of these long throws take up about a minute, as do free kick set-ups and even corners. As long as the emphasis is on cheating to gain any sort of advantage, whether that's to waste time, win a pen or a set-piece, the time wasting will continue.
More yellow cards and a much higher bar for what is a free kick will eliminate the majority of time wasting.
The players are like politicians: they bring in rules, then look to circumvent them to gain an advantage. Rip up the script, start over and give us back our football. Stop the cheating, the gamesmanship, etc. Not more rules that will no doubt be exploited.
27 Mar 2026 18:38:24
Are these for real? Sounds impossible to enforce.
28 Mar 2026 09:13:16
On paper, they sound positive, the issue here is unfortunately that the referees seem to pick and choose when to actually enforce such rules.