Major League Soccer continues to be one of the most important leagues in the world., especially since the Rosario idol and former player of the Football Club Barcelona and Paris Saint Germain, Lionel Messi, arrived there. The Argentine striker continues to prove to be a great player with great quality and has been doing his thing since he started defending the colors of Inter Miami.
The growth obtained by the MLS is more than clear and the league seeks even continue expanding its market with the help of the captain of the Argentine national team thanks to a format that constantly proposes changes with the aim of promoting the fluidity of the game.
Changes in game format
With the aforementioned as the main goal in the short term, the MLS will be carrying out a series of changes that will be appreciated from what will be the 9th date of the North American championship that has Inter Miami and New York Red Bull as leaders of the Eastern Conference and Los Angeles Galaxy at the top of the Western Conference.
“Major League Soccer announced today that the off-field treatment rule, substitution rule Timed timing and VAR announcements in the stadium will be implemented in MLS games starting this Saturday, April 20,” they stated on the official website of Major League Soccer. The date in question will be one where the Florida team led by Messi will face Nashville.
What are the changes to come?
In the first instance, doctors will be allowed to have at least two minutes to evaluate off the field to a footballer who has remained on the ground for more than 15 seconds. The main referee will have the decision to ask the player if he needs the intervention of doctors to treat him. This is something that had already been put into practice in the MLS Next Pro, which would be the third category in the United States and it was achieved that the specialist “has time to treat the players, at the same time allowing the matches to be played.” resume quickly.”
This period will be used as a guide, it will begin when the ball is once again in play and will be controlled by the fourth referee with the support of the Assistant in charge of the VAR.
There are a series of exceptions in which said advantage will not be mandatory in its entirety. and these would be the same: If a player is the victim of a foul that leads to him having to be warned with a yellow or red card, a collision between two players, injuries to the goalkeeper, a potential event that causes bleeding in the protagonist and should not be be enforced if a penalty shot must be taken and the person in charge of executing it was the victim of the foul.
In addition to this, there is also a possible head injury, something that will be regulated from of a Medical Director who can certify that said player can continue in play must leave the field of play, as well as a cardiac problem or “life-threatening episode” (seizures, asphyxiation, among others), which is regulated based on the Safety Plan. Medical Emergency Action.
Timed substitution rule
“Requires a substituted player to leave the field within 10 seconds. If you do not leave any point on the field within 10 seconds, the incoming player will have to wait a 60-second holding period before entering the game at the next stop.” This rule was implemented in the MLS Next Pro in the 2023 season with 99.7% compliance within the more than 3,200 substitutions recorded.
The main judge must ensure that the substitution takes the stipulated time, otherwise the fourth referee It is the obligation to monitor compliance with that minute of time. During this small period of time, the team that is harmed must play with 10 men on the field of play. If many changes occur, the reference time will be taken from the moment the electronic sign indicating the last change is raised.
The offending player could be sanctioned with a yellow card if it is interpreted that he had the intention of delaying the match more than necessary. There are exceptions to the rule and they are linked to goalkeeper changes, changes due to injury and special situations, such as the retirement of a player or safety reasons that are of greater relevance that prevent the exit from the side closest to the position of the player. substituted player.
The VAR also has changes
The announcements made by the VAR to the entire stadium will imply that the highest authority of the commitment will explain the decision to all the fans and spectators who will live in the stadium facilities. The measure was tested at the beginning of 2023 during the last FIFA Club World Cup. The “live VAR” had its day of birth on February 1 of that year in the match that culminated in the 3-0 victory of Al-Ahly of Egypt against Auckland City of New Zealand.
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