How would you improve football matches

[brookfox]

Cap VAR decisions at 30-60 seconds and scrap the lines they use for offside. If you can't spot a clear and obvious error in that time it's probably not there.

Referee in each half, it's unrealistic to expect a ref to keep up with play in both halves.

Stop the use of boards and the ceremony that goes with substitutions. Use a more 5-a-side approach where you just make the subs in play.

I would like to see some trials of 5min sin bins for a yellow card.

A bonus point if you score 3 or more goals.

As someone else suggested bigger goals seems sensible to match the (assumed!) growth in keepers.

[ozleicester]

Get rid of VAR

Stop the clock when the ball isnt in motion.

[peterborofox]

I'd actually enforced the goalkeeper six second rule. I'm not sure when six seconds becomes supposedly active, from when they catch it or when they're got the ball in a standing position maybe after they've dived on the ball.

 

But the amount of times a keeper will hold the ball for I'd say around 15 seconds when time wasting, is a joke. Never ever do refs do anything about it.

 

Second one is similar. Seems to be an unwritten rule that if a defending team gets a free kick, they are allowed to take it within a 5-10 yard radius of actually where it should be. All the time there are fouls near the corner flag or touchline and the kick is taken yards away. At the other end you get fouled and the kick is taken from that exact position. Just lazy referees.

 

[Nalis]

With VAR I'd have a challenge system - one per team per match and leave it at that. If the ref cant decide within 60 seconds then you stay with the onfield decision and add 60 seconds to injury time to avoid it being used as a time wasting device.

[Super_horns]

And make it so they have to use it for key incidents rather than for a throw on the half way line which no doubt VAR will get used for eventually !

[CosbehFox]

Surprised at so many calls from scrapping offside. Fairly sure we’d end up with defensive lines being more deeper as a result. 
 

The key to stop defensive football would be to make the gap smaller between the top teams and the rest. A salary cap or similar to ensure the distribution of top players goes across the divisions 

Edited 1 April 2021 by Cardiff_Fox

[RowlattsFox]

Stop the clock at substitutions, injuries, VAR and goal celebrations. Don't want to stop it every time the ball goes out play but maybe have a limit to take the throw before it goes the other way. 

 

Not be so black and white with decisions, particularly handballs. Use common sense 

[Guest ttfn]

3 hours ago, Cardiff_Fox said:

Surprised at so many calls from scrapping offside. Fairly sure we’d end up with defensive lines being more deeper as a result. 
 

The key to stop defensive football would be to make the gap smaller between the top teams and the rest. A salary cap or similar to ensure the distribution of top players goes across the divisions 

Scrapping offside would be an absolute disaster. It would change the game completely. Football is already increasingly becoming Rich Team Attacks v Poor Team Defends, this would make it even worse. Burnley would never leave their own penalty area.

[Guest ttfn]

My only suggestion for a rule change is to punish any cynical fouls which stop a counter-attack with a direct free kick from a position of the attacking team’s choice.
 

So the punishment for a sly trip to stop a counter-attack could be a free kick 60 yards closer to goal. Sin bins will just become exercises in wasting time until the 10 minutes is up. The punishment for cynical play needs to be something that provides a greater threat of the fouling team conceding a goal than letting the counter-attack run.

[spacemunky]

Free beer and weed.

[Mike Oxlong]

Mic up the refs and make them more answerable by having them available for post match interview to explain decision making 

[Super_horns]

2 hours ago, Mike Oxlong said:

Mic up the refs and make them more answerable by having them available for post match interview to explain decision making 

First idea makes sense .

 

Let’s hear the players trying to con and cheat each other or the officials then putting influence on them.

 

On the 2nd issue one ex ref on 5live said they wanted to try the latter but the clubs themselves feared they might publicly damage the reputation of a player if said player is criticised or would harm any potential appeal that club might  want to make on a red card as an example.

 

Would it make any difference ?

 

People would just say “it’s a bit late now”  or “he’s just making excuses”

 

Maybe on less clear cut decisions an official explanation might help but a lot are so subjective they tend to change from official to official which is why we get inconsistent calls made.

Edited 2 April 2021 by Super_horns

[Mike Oxlong]

It wouldn’t make a difference in the sense that decisions in the match have already been made but it might help your average fan understand why certain decisions have been taken. At the moment we are all left guessing. With the game being meant to be more transparent and in the basis that it is done in the proper way it’s something that I would like to see. 

 

I think it’s fairly obvious that they wouldn’t be asked about clear cut decisions 

[Unabomber]

Get rid of VAR.

 

Allow standing and drinking in the stands (but beer cups must be binned so as not to make a mess).

 

Retrospective 5 game bans for any diving or cheating.

 

Refs stop giving those soft free kicks where defenders are shielding the ball and then just go down. So frustrating. It wouldn’t be a freekick or pen if it was the other way round.

 

Edited 2 April 2021 by Unabomber

[Super_horns]

24 minutes ago, Mike Oxlong said:

It wouldn’t make a difference in the sense that decisions in the match have already been made but it might help your average fan understand why certain decisions have been taken. At the moment we are all left guessing. With the game being meant to be more transparent and in the basis that it is done in the proper way it’s something that I would like to see. 

 

I think it’s fairly obvious that they wouldn’t be asked about clear cut decisions 

In theory but any decision going seems to get disputed and argued against these days as players and managers don’t like to accept any decisions against their team.

 

They will want to know why even the most basic and obvious decision was made.

Edited 2 April 2021 by Super_horns

[Mike Oxlong]

2 minutes ago, Super_horns said:

In theory but any decision going seems to get disputed and argued against these days as players and managers don’t like to accept any decisions against their team.

 

They will want to know why even the most basic and obvious decision was made.

I’m not suggesting a Spanish Inquisition

 

Just a 5 minute interview on decisions, the rationale for which appears to be unclear or contrary to what looks to have happened. No hostility, no abuse, just an attempt to understand what has happened. No involvement of what other teams players or managers have said. Just questions of clarification 

 

A ref give an explanation that clarifies the basis of decision or might say this is how it looked from where I was or even I made a mistake there, this is what I thought

 

Everyone else in the game appears to be far more accountable than the ref. These people make decent money at PL level and make decisions that have significant consequences

[Super_horns]

And then everyone walks away accepting the decisions and reasons given without making side comments after games weeks or even months  later about previous  decisions made like  Mourinho did with Michael Oilver the other  week for just making an honest personal decision which wasn’t clear cut either way .

 

I don’t think the respect is there for officials like in other sports to allow the ref to come out and explain a decision without him being further criticised and questioned by some TBH.

 

Edited 2 April 2021 by Super_horns

[Corky]

Commentators not being forced to "apologise" for players and managers swearing. 

 

Just put a disclaimer at the start of the programme or tell the offended viewers to switch the sound off.

[Royston.]

Trying to think of a strong enough deterrent for the "tactical" foul to stop a breakaway.

Red card, penalty??

 

Needs to be strong because like several things in the game, it is plain cheating but seems to be accepted as part of the game.

[BenTheFox]

1 minute ago, Royston. said:

Trying to think of a strong enough deterrent for the "tactical" foul to stop a breakaway.

Red card, penalty??

 

Needs to be strong because like several things in the game, it is plain cheating but seems to be accepted as part of the game.

Still think a sin bin is the best solution for that. The rest of the team being disadvantaged for ten minutes and being another incident away from being sent off for good might make a player think twice before committing a cynical foul and if not it at least benefits the attacking team more than just a booking. 

[BenTheFox]

One I thought was interesting was a Wenger suggestion where a free-kick can be taken to yourself like a 'tap and go' penalty in rugby. Much better than his rubbish suggestion of being able to kick throw-ins. 

[LCFCCHRIS]

Var checks and yellows cards for obvious dives, whether it's a pen or free kick. Like De Bruyne's embarrassing dive the other day. Right now it's literally incentivised for them to do it.

[Dan LCFC]

I'd be very intrigued to see what happened if you did get rid of offside, but I think it would probably be a complete farce. It feels too radical a change - though like I said I'd be intrigued to see what actually played out if it happened. Would completely change the tactics.

[ozleicester]

On 05/04/2021 at 05:30, Royston. said:

Trying to think of a strong enough deterrent for the "tactical" foul to stop a breakaway.

Red card, penalty??

 

Needs to be strong because like several things in the game, it is plain cheating but seems to be accepted as part of the game.

a 20-30 metre penalty... so if the foul occurs at the halfway line the resulting freekick is given 25 metres toward the foulers goal. would certainly reduce the incentive.

[filbertway]

Would love to see retrospective bans for players that have dived.