The key changes to football's rules
The biggest set of rule changes in the game's history, which came into force on June 1, are meant to make football even more exciting. Some are cosmetic - like the new rule governing the color of a player's undershorts.
Penalties
Lionel Messi won't like this one: Should a penalty taker come to a full stop on his way to the ball - or pass it to a teammate - it won't count, and the opponents will be awarded a free kick. The offender could even get a yellow card for the transgression. The shooter may still hesitate in his run up. The goalkeeper is to get yellow for leaving his line early.
Triple jeopardy
Germany's FA criticized the old rule that would see a defender who committed a foul in the area punished in three ways - a penalty, a red card, and a suspension. Now the referee has more discretion, meaning he only needs to send the player off if he sees the foul as deliberate. If the player tried to play the ball, he is now only to be sanctioned with a yellow card.
Sending off
Under the new rules, it is no longer an automatic red card for denying an attacker a clear scoring chance in the area. Yellow suffices if the referee sees no intent behind it. However, the referee now has the power to issue a player a red card before kick off. The team will still be allowed to start the match with 11 men, choosing a replacement for the player sent off from among the substitutes.
Injury treatment
Every second counts: If the physio's magic sponge can heal an injured player within 20 seconds, said player may remain on the pitch and rejoin play immediately. Until now, any player requiring treatment had to leave the field of play, returning only when given permission to do so by the referee.
Kick off
No longer must the player taking the kick off play the ball forward, but he or she now has the option of playing it sideways or back to a teammate. Revolutionary!
Attacking wall
No longer will attacking players be allowed to form a wall to screen the goalkeeper behind the wall of defenders on a free kick. A victory for the goalkeepers union!
Drink breaks
The referee will continue to have the power to hold up play so that players can drink fluids during a match on a hot day or afternoon. Now, however, he is required to add the seconds or minutes required to time-added-on at the end of the match.
Throw ins
At the professional level, you hardly ever see referees blow the whistle for an illegal thow in. Now the rule has been changed to make it clearer: The player must now "throw the ball with both hands from behind and over the head from the point where it left the field of play." Apparently this is meant to stop players from essentially throwing it with one hand, with the other acting as a support.
Shoeless play
Until now, a player who loses a shoe could not take part in the action until the next stoppage - and after he has put it back on. Now a shoeless player is free to play on. The same goes for a lost shin guard. Watch out for those studs!
Matching undershorts
Checked, striped or neon colors - the imagination fashion-conscious pros knows no bounds! They can carry on wearing their partially visible favorite undershorts - as long as they match their shorts. If not, the ref could order them to make a quick change - like Kingsley Coman of Bayern Munich.