Major League Soccer has implemented new rules that it hopes can reduce the scourge of time-wasting and improve player welfare across the globe.
Following two years of trials in its development league, MLS Next Pro, soccer chiefs brought in a couple of new initiatives in April.
The aim was to make the game safer and more exciting by reducing gamesmanship and increasing the amount of time the ball was in play. The hope is that they will be used by other major leagues and at the 2026 World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada.
One of the rules dictates that any player being substituted must leave the field within 10 seconds. Should anyone fail to stick to that deadline, the player coming on cannot enter the field for at least a minute, leaving their team one short.
There are exceptions – it does not apply if a player is injured, for example – but the rule is designed to prevent unnecessary delays and gamesmanship, particularly at the end of games.
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The same goes for MLS’ new ‘off-field treatment rule’, which states that if the referee stops play for an injury – and medics come on – the player may have to leave the field for two minutes.
This is not always enforced, such as when a player suffers a suspected head injury, but the new rule also aims to reduce opportunities for teams to delay the game or waste time.
A version of the ‘off-field treatment rule’ was introduced to the Premier League during the 2023/24 season and MLS has held talks with IFAB – the body in charge of soccer’s laws - and other leagues around the world as it looks to be a center of innovation for the sport.
‘This is year one in MLS. But we're on to something,’ Ali Curtis, senior vice president of sporting development at MLS said.
‘We believe in these rules. We believe they're good for the game. And so we would like for those rules to be for those rules to be implemented in the laws of the game. I'd like to see them in the World Cup here in the US and Canada and Mexico.
The former player and General Manager added: ‘It's an exciting time for our sport in the US and Canada. And we're here to help evolve and appreciate the beautiful game.
The early data – from more than 225 MLS games - are encouraging. ‘The rules are working,’ Curtis said. So far, there have been just 18 violations of the 10-second rule across more than 2,000 substitutions – around 1 per cent.
MLS’ new ‘off-field treatment rule’ can see a player forced to leave the field for two minutes
Ali Curtis, senior vice president of sporting development at MLS
‘We're seeing that the time lost, the gamesmanship, the time wasting associated with a substitution - particularly those when a team is winning or maybe an away team is tied or winning - is reduced. And that's really important.’
Before the introduction of the ‘off-field treatment rule’, there were – on average – 5.25 ‘injury’ stoppages which lasted more than 15 seconds. That number has now dropped to fewer than 1.5 per game.
Despite fears that the rule could lead to teams being more physical, there has been no spike in the number of fouls, or yellow or red cards.
The rules came about after MLS put together working groups and committees – made up of sporting directors, managers and other figures from the game – to discuss possible innovations for the sport.
‘The sport has been around for over 100 years - and it's a beautiful game - but everything about it has evolved,’ Curtis said. ‘The way it's played, the players that play it, the tactics that coaches and managers employ, the way fans consume it… except our rules.‘