How football can change to combat indiscipline on the field

Football may see peculiar changes in the coming years aimed at combating bad behavior by athletes in relation to refereeing on the field. Among them, rules from other sports may arise, such as Rugbyand even temporary suspensions.

A International Football Association Board (IFAB), the body that regulates football rules, will meet in the coming weeks in London, England, to discuss ideas, with the main focus on curbing players’ attitudes toward referees.

Among the possible changes appears the ‘sin-bins‘ or penalty box, a measure adopted in both rugby and hockey. For offenses directed at the referee considered not serious enough to be expelled, athletes are temporarily removed from the game.

In football, athletes would be suspended for 10 minutes within a match. And the premises of the measure were explained by Lukas Brud, CEO of IFAB, in an interview with The Times.

“Players may not worry as much about getting a yellow card for saying something inappropriate to the referee, but it can make a big difference if they know it means a tenth of the game off the field.”

Another measure imported from rugby would be the possibility of only team captains being allowed to approach the referees to talk, which would avoid harsh and offensive complaints.

“If only the captain can approach the referee, then he or she can explain to his or her teammates what happened. This has worked well in other sports such as rugby and basketball,” said Brud.

According to The Timesthe measures have already been tested in grassroots matches around the world, and the results obtained were promising, with complaint rates decreasing and referees proving more comfortable and safe on the field.

“We need to protect the integrity and image of the game and help referees better manage inappropriate behavior. There are even testimonies from youth football referees about how they suffer from anxiety before games, not being able to sleep, because they are afraid of being abused, both verbally and physically. In some countries, a large proportion of young referees give up the profession after the first few years”, he concluded.