Lionel Messi’s Impact: The New MLS Rules and Inter Miami’s Game Against Orlando City

Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami will play this Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. against Orlando City as a visitor (Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports)

Major League Soccer (MLS) began to take on greater relevance in the world of soccer after the arrival of Lionel Messi. This impact given by the best exponent of this sport gave another status to a growing league, which brings together teams from the United States and Canada, and seeks to increase its expansion thanks to a format that constantly proposes changes with the aim of promoting the fluidity of the game.

Although the modifications were made three weeks ago, the discussions arose when Lionel Messi himself experienced an unusual scene as a result of those changes in the match between Inter Miami and Montreal at the Stade Saputo in Canada on the 12th date of the competition last year. Saturday. His team was losing 2-0 (they finally won 3-2) when a violent kick took him off the field 39 minutes into the first half and due to the new regulations he had to wait two minutes off the field before re-entering. When he left towards the edge of the field, the Argentine looked at the fourth referee and asked: “Two minutes?” In this way, one of the new rules that have been in force in the MLS since last month was popularized.

The star criticized one of the new MLS rules

As date 9 passed, the changes that came into effect on April 20 were announced: “Major League Soccer announced today that the off-field treatment rule, the timed substitution rule and VAR announcements in the stadium will be implemented.” will be implemented in the MLS games starting this Saturday,” it was reported at the time on the contest page. One by one, these are the main changes.

The off-field treatment rule

Doctors will be allowed a minimum of two minutes to evaluate a footballer who has remained on the ground for more than 15 seconds off the field. The referee will have the power to ask the player if he needs attention. This was put into practice in the MLS Next Pro, the third division of the United States, and it was achieved that the specialist “has time to treat the players, while allowing matches to resume quickly.” This period, which is an approximation and will be used as a guide, will begin when the ball is put back into play and will be controlled by the fourth referee with the support of the AVAR (assistant VAR manager).

There are a series of exceptions in which this window will not be mandatory, namely: if a player suffers a foul that results in a yellow or red card, a collision between two players, injuries to the goalkeeper, a potential bleeding in the protagonist and it should not be fulfilled if a penalty occurs and the person in charge of kicking it was the victim of the foul. These asterisks are added to a possible head injury, which is regulated by a Medical Director who certifies the continuity or departure from the field, as well as a heart problem or “life-threatening episode” (seizures, asphyxiation, among others). ), which is regulated based on the Medical Emergency Action Plan.

Inter Miami shares the top of the Eastern Conference with New York RB (Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports)

The Timed Substitution Rule

Aims to maximize effective match time: “Requires a substituted player to leave the field within 10 seconds. If not exited from 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.” The MLS is the pioneer of the initiative because the IFAB has not yet ruled, but it is in line with the latest attempts to prevent unnecessary waste of time. It was implemented in the MLS Next Pro in the 2023 season with 99.7% compliance among the more than 3,200 registered substitutions.

The main referee must control that the change takes as long as stipulated, otherwise the fourth judge will monitor compliance with that minute. During that short time, the injured team will play with 10 men. If many modifications occur, the reference time will be taken from the moment the electronic sign is raised to indicate the last modification. The offender could be sanctioned with a yellow card if it is interpreted that he is trying to delay the match. Exceptions to the rule are linked to goalkeeper changes, modifications due to injury and special situations, such as the retirement of a player or security reasons that prevent the exit from the side closest to the substituted player’s position.

VAR announcements in the stadium

VAR decisions will be explained and announced by the referee to the fans in the stadium and, therefore, to the viewers of the broadcast after observing the play under review. The measure was tested at the beginning of 2023 during the Club World Cup. “Live VAR” had its debut on February 1 of that year in the duel with Al-Ahly of Egypt winning 3-0 against Auckland City of New Zealand.

2024-05-13 23:06:00
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