True - they obviously don't need it the Round 1 Home and Away. But for the Conference Final and MLS Cup - nothing would be better than a 30 minute Golden Goal OT period.
I just asked. There will be OT when necessary in game 2 of the conference semis, in the conference finals, and in MLS Cup. This is the same as last season. There will, however, be no golden goals. If OT is started, the full 30 minutes will be played.
So if the teams are tied after both games, then what? Either you have overtime and if necessary PK shootout or the higher seed goes through. I would prefer the latter to give more meaning to the regular season. I thought Golden Goals was outlawed with the latest FIFA rulings. They would have to play the entire OT period, whether or not a team scores in the period.
Interesting. 30 minute overtimes can be very fun. Anything can happen when the players are dead tired. Nice to see that overtime is gone for the regular season. I swear, at every game that was tied late (last year), I always forgot about overtime, and just assumed that the game would be over in minutes. Everybody around me would always have to remind me about overtime.
Change in attendance? I wonder what the effect of aligning MLS more with the international rules will be on attendance. Do you suppose Eurosnobs will start attending MLS games in droves now that MLS kisses FIFA's butt? Or do you think a whole lot of true-blue Americans will stop attending since they don't believe in draws? My guess is that this is a subject that attracts tons of argument and bitching but is a total non-issue when it comes to the fans in the seats. The only possible thing I see coming from these rule changes is that there will only be half as many threads now at BigSoccer.
Thanks for the info! This ruling will probably make regular season games a lot easier to schedule for the networks broadcasting them (ABC, espn2, FSW and local/regional channels), as they'll know exactly how long a game will last (only adding in whatever stoppage time is given at the end of each half). Will OT be a non-stop 30 minutes, or will it be two 15-minute halves? -G
That's a good one. It will stop some players like Razov from acting like a complete beligerant ass and get himself ejected when he knows he is going to be called up by national team.
I believe that there is some FIFA regulation that overtime must be broken into two periods. That is why MLS had two 5-minute overtime periods instead of just one continuous 10-minute period. Given that assumption, there will be two 15-minute overtime periods.
I think the only rule change that is pointless is the National Team call-up rule. National teams and MLS teams are different entities with different rules. It's not like I noticed a lot of players trying to get reds right before big tournaments, anyway. If the EPL had this rule, Bocanegra would never have played in that thrilling Haiti match, to mention an example other than the CJ / Wales callup. Really, these callups aren't hurting anyone, and aren't causing a major disadvantage to anyone. Plus, the league is imposing its will on a player's decision of whether or not to go play for their country. It's a solution for a non-existent problem.
Caution points are assigned to the various cardable offenses (excepting ejections). When you get a yellow card, you accumulate points. When you reach 21 points, you get a one game suspension and a fine. When you get to 32 points, 43 points, etc in 11 point increments, you get another one game suspension and a fine of $1000. If a player receives 11 caution points in any three game span, then he gets an automatic one game suspension (but no fine unless he's also passed one of the secondary tiers). Also, if a player is within four points of being suspended, and they manage to go three games without being cautioned, red carded, or fined by the disciplinary committee, then they can earn -4 caution points. They only get one shot at this per season. There used to be a schedule of the points for different offenses, but it doesn't seem to be on the mlsnet site anymore. With today's action, most of the common cardable offenses are worth 5 points now.
I'm sure that if a KEY national team player (Eddie, DMB, Donovan) is called up for an important match (WC Qualifying) , I'm sure MLS team coaches will let them go. I"m sure they won't be happy that thier player won't serve the suspension till they return to the team. I could see coaches holding back for a freindly, but I don't think that could be that diasterous as long as these players don't rack up red cards right and left. just my 2 cents. Oh yeah - DCU fans rejoice! OT is dead!
Re: Change in attendance? None of the usual tip-offs that this is sarcasm, so I assume you were being completely serious. It is simply incorrect and totally offensive that MLS aligning itself with FIFA rule changes is butt kissing! Believe it or not the US did not invent the game of soccer and more so this is the world's game. As such there should be a minimum number of commonalities for the sport from one country to another. These are called rules and everyone has to live by them. Otherwise MLS is an outlaw league. As an American I refuse to believe that bad attitudes such as this are in the majority. People who do think like that need to quit being so childish.
Thanks for the info! With regards to the national team callups, the national team will take priority for any qualifying match -- this should be a non-issue.
GREAT for MLS to finally be on level with the rest of the world... Am glad this is another minor improvement and hopefully MLS will continue to improve for the better.
I think it's an important rule change. It just make sure that players who are suspended in MLS actually have to serve a suspension in MLS.
The rule change does nothing to change a player's eligibility to play for the national team. It says his suspension will be held in abeyance until he returns to his MLS team. That means that if Eddie Pope gets a red card right before a qualifier, and then DC's next game in which he would otherwise serve his suspension is played while he is away with the national team, that DC game does not count toward his suspension. He must still serve his suspension in the first DC game played after he returns to his club.
Does the suspension rule hold for injury too? (Hypothetical - I know it doesn't.) If the intent is that a player must be suspended for games that he would otherwise be available to play in, it seems the consistent thing to do would be to hold suspensions in abeyance until a player returns from injury too. Not that it'd ever happen, but...
At what point though is the definition of the time frame of a US National Game set? In other words, let's say that the US is playing in Soldier Field at 6:00p and then the Fire play the Revs right after at 8:30p. Let's say that Justin Mapp is serving a one game suspension and has been called into camp. The Fire can argue that the Revs game counts as the game suspended as Justin (since he didn't play) could just change uniforms and be available. However. Let's move the Nats game to LA at 6:00p Central. The Fire still play at 8:30 Central. Mapp is on the bench in LA. The Fire still contend that the Revs gme count toward the suspension, but the League claims that no reasonable man can make the trip from LA to Chicago in half an hour, hold the Revs match in abeyance and force him to miss another match. There's a wndow here that may cause some confusion.
A rule every league in the world should have is when a player needs to be carried off the field, he should spend atleast 2 minutes out of the game before coming in. This could help stop some players acting injured to waste time. Also, one player holding off another player as the ball goes out of bounds should be made illegal because if it's done in midfield it's an obstruction.