I've seen it a few times in youth games (maybe once every other year...) when the kid is in the far corner and gets called off by a sub. In this case, not really a safety issue. They walk behind the goal, where no one is, or should be, and on to their bench. Rarely is there anybody nearby. Pro level... I'm not sure why IFAB thought this change was needed. Who thought it was a problem that a guy walks off at midfield? I can understand wanting the player to leave quickly. But, the ref can read the situation and if it's a star player, or one that was impactful in the game, that walk adds to the spectacle, and entertainment value of the game.
The first page of this thread, from way back in November, immediately identified all the problems with this change and asked the same questions you're asking. https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/2019-20-laws-of-the-game.2089706/#post-37272562 All things being equal, this might be the worst and least thought-out change that IFAB went for. Because it's fixing a problem that doesn't exist or can otherwise easily be addressed (adding time). It has hugely negative ramifications at both the grassroots and professional levels. And it's going to be so arbitrarily enforced--at all levels--that no one is going to know the expectations, which makes it even worse. The automatic yellow for goalkeeper encroachment is up there, but at least--when VAR isn't involved--officials can exercise some discretion and use common sense.
Two goals pulled out of the net in two weeks in EPL for inadvertent hand balls that could only be caught by VAR is pretty big, too.
I don't disagree. But at the non-VAR level, the consequences won't be as big. A referee or AR has to be absolutely sure of what they saw for this to matter. I suspect the most blatant of "accidental" handballs have regularly been called as offences at most levels when they lead to goals, so the change will effectively have very little impact at all levels where the match isn't being broadcast with multiple cameras. At the VAR level? Yes. Huge (and likely unintended) consequences. But this substitution change has ramifications and consequences for all levels. And it doesn't solve any problems.
This is interesting. Eastern PA has not said anything. In fact, they put our their own clarifications which seems to back up IFAB. This is taken from their website where they have their own words of new changes addressed to all referees:
I think when you get down to state association instruction, you've got to remember that recerts are mostly (like 90%+, perhaps?) for referees doing matches with unlimited subs and, frankly, working competitions where the adherence to the requirement that a player must leave before his replacement comes on is oftentimes shaky and erratically enforced (if at all). So if a state is saying "don't book four 11-year olds in the 6th minute of a match for running toward their coach, who is yelling 'sub!,' instead of exiting at the nearest boundary line," I think we can all get in line with that. To the extent, however, that any state instruction is adamant that this shouldn't be enforced in limited substitution settings... well, that's a big problem. Because the issues that develop with substitution procedures at higher levels start with youth players. Higher-level players need to learn correct substitution procedures and expectations as early as possible, so bad habits don't develop. Of course, the same can be said of referees.
Here's an example beyond state associations. Here's USYS saying not to do it in their NPL Regional/Conference leagues. https://www.usyouthsoccer.org/assets/1/6/Conferences_Refereee_Information_Document_7-29-19.pdf
I think it would be fair to say that this will be politely ignored in virtually all youth and adult amateur soccer, sort of the way that jewelry is not noticed at the adult level. So, not doing more than a few youth games a year, what are USYS Conferences?
Theres the National Premier Leagues for high level youth soccer under USYS. They have the national league and then 13 regional leagues which they now call conferences below it.
Theres so many different high level youth leagues now that waters out the talent. DA, NPL, and ECNL are all competing for that "top level" youth league moniker. But generally DA has the best level of play.
Is there really any argument that other leagues are truly competing with DA, though? The best talent is concentrated at the MLS clubs and a few other select academies within the DA structure. There are some good players in other competitions and organizations can slap the words "national" and "elite" on all sorts of structures for branding purposes and an attempt to collect more money. But unless I'm really out of the loop, it's mostly inferior play to DA (stipulating there are always a few clubs or teams within DA itself that have close to no business being there).
Yes, it’s been an arms race for years. And, then you have poaching and shopping and as @MassachusettsRef says, some awful teams in DA. The best players I have seen recently ARE associated with MLS. The others seem like it’s a money grab.
This is one of the reasons I really liked the change, because it naturally scales with the assets afforded that level. Have a state cup or national playoffs youth game with a 4th official that can lend an extra set of eyes? You probably should scrutinize more in later stages than you do in the first round of a probably 12-0 state cup match. We probably should scrutinize more at a D1 college that's top 15 in the country that has video replay as opposed to some barely D1, probably should be D2 school that's going nowhere. (whenever college does adopt those rules). Obviously top flight leagues should scrutinize more than even 2nd or 3rd divisions, as well.
I either don't follow or simply just don't agree. The change is for accidental handballs to be a punishable offence if certain results occur. Why should an accidental handball at the professional level be more scrutinized than an accidental handball at lower levels? I'm not understanding the logic there. Accidental is accidental and doesn't seem to naturally translate to having a gliding scale relative to skill.
Spain has moved to the strict VAR encroachment interpretation, based off the circular. https://www.marca.com/en/football/spanish-football/2019/08/24/5d6064dd22601d68148b4622.html So La Liga will have the WWC standards. UEFA won’t. FIFA will. EPL won’t. In a global game, I can’t imagine that being a problem. Not a chance.
Frankly, I’m enjoying the push back. What can the IFAB really do if the premier league and others simply choose not to follow their edicts over VAR?
It would be UEFA and FIFA, but not assign English referees to major matches. So nothing the public cares about. My point is the discrepancies. Fans mostly don’t operate in silos. Different scales for addressing physical play is one thing. Completely different systems of officiating is a problem.
I suppose IFAB could revoke the approval given to use VAR in extreme circumstances in future seasons.
Local Tournament with all levels of play. Match on the field above me is scheduled to start 20 minutes before mine, so I’m hanging out, watching the Captains/Referee gaggle. 5 minutes later, the referee is STILL explaining the changes to the glazed over captains. The drop ball change explanation was excruciating. Please, everybody, let’s not do this, ever!
It shouldn't even take that long, because the captains won't tell their teams anything. I don't know how many times we got the teams out onto the field and the forwards asked me who had the kickoff. "Didn't the captain tell you?"
Not to hijack the thread here, but NPL isn't really in competition with ECNL. On the boys' side, NPL teams can qualify for a national playoff with ECNL teams, called the ENPL. A further explanation would require a doubling of BigSoccer's bandwidth.