FIFA use competitions such as the World Cup to develop new priorities for Refs which then filter down to our Leagues.
So far, the focus appears to be on shirt holding in the area and time wasting.
I'm particularly pleased about the shirt holding. There's absolutely no need for it and imo it should be ruled out of the game completely. If players understand that they will be penalised for shirt holding, we should have much cleaner competition in the box at corners and free kicks.
As for time wasting; we've recently suffered from enormous injury times - to our cost. I think we need to get used to 10+ minutes and it might be worth putting an extra hour on the parking ticket!
Refs are still struggling with VAR and the 'clear and obvious' error judgement needs to be either applied or disregarded absolutely - but make up your minds which.
Can they use a sack barrow to wheel players off to be treated.
Unless a player is obviously knocked out cold, has a limb hanging off or is suffering a cardiac arrest (and it's not the GK) then play should just go on around them while they are being treated. It would soon make the 'fakers' think twice.
Watched a college game at the weekend here in the US where they are using an 'official' clock where the ref signals when it should be stopped/started and the crowd/viewers can see exactly the time remaining. Game lasted about 2h and 10m.
"Fakers" cannot get away with what they are doing without active encouragement or at least tacit approval from their managers. It is impossible to root out cheating amongst players when we know that some managers are cheats themselves. Leeds United players and Don Revie spring to mind.
If the "injured" player isn't in the direct play, ie, near/in the box then play on.
Players now go down when they get hit with the ball and the idiot Ref stops the game( another way to cheat), it's a ball, it won't kill you.....a house brick will. Any players been killed by getting hit with a ball................??
All part of today's namby pamby society................
I was thinking exactly the same thing towards the end of the Poland - Mexico game when a defender got a ball in the face and went down as if he'd been hit by a speeding train. One thing that doesn't help is the stupid handball law where if he'd put his hands up in an 'unnatural' place to protect his face then a penalty would have been given. As a consequence he had his hands behind his back in that stupid 'wingless bird' pose they do these days and got the ball straight in the kisser
One issue I'd like to see addressed is the ridiculous situation when a player is fouled and injured, then receives treatment, then has to leave the field and wait to be called on by the Ref after play restarts. If the injury is a clear result of a foul, why can't the player resume on the field rather thań giving an advantage to the team who committed the foul?
Yeah, seems a silly rule. Doesn't really matter what rules the FA bring in the "pros" will always find a way to abuse it and make it "work" in their way.
EG...the Head injury rule...........as a defender, go up for the header and come down holding your head, result, play stopped and play broken up.
There’s rules just made up by refs on the day if you ask me.
A rule that needs to be fetched in is for the keeper, when he puts the ball down for a goal kick then he shouldn’t be allowed to pick it back up and walk to other side to take it