What should be done in football but won’t be…Part 1: the 10 yard rule
Subtitle: Because if those at the head of the game were serious about cleaning up the foul-mouthed, cheating, whining crap we see too often on our pitches, they’d do this tomorrow…
It has worked brilliantly in Rugby Union and was tried and abandoned in football and all it is, is this: when a free kick is given, if a player shows dissent at the decision, the ball should be moved forwards ten yards and towarsd the centre opf the goal. So simple and so effective. And yet abandoned largely because, I believe that the ref had to book a player for dissent before he could then advance the free kick the fabled ten yards. Why a booking? No idea.
Here’s what should be done. Same as before but with no necessity to book. If players still complain, march the ball forward another ten yards (so long as the winners of the free kick want it so) And what happens if the ball ends up in the penalty area? If it’s an indirect free kick, nothing. If it’s a direct free kick, then, well sorry chums, it becomes a penalty. It’s so simple and if applied ruthlessly would be so effective at stamping out dissent at free kicks.
Even footballers with their often demonstrably small brains should be able to get their inflated heads around this one. Don’t talk back. It has never worked in the history of football and now you might be costing your team the game. Is that so hard to understand? Is it so hard to implement? No and no.
Next time: Sin Bins
The ten yard rule should have worked in football, but was flawed, ie the booking part. Simple enough to remove it but maybe for some reason, the powers that be like seeing players arguing with refs?