Major League Soccer, or MLS, commissioner Don Garber wants to make some exciting rule changes to the sport, including adding a time-wasting rule. The 65-year-old American recently spoke to The Times about a wide range of topics. That includes the aforementioned time waster, as well as bugging players and referees’ explanations of decisions.
Garber apparently despises when players fake injuries to waste time. “The game frustrates me a lot,” the commissioner said. “We sat down and said if someone was going to go around and fake an injury, getting leg massages, guess what? They are leaving the game. The players start to [get up] faster. The fans love it.”
The potential rule would have players up in 15 seconds or face three minutes on the sideline. Similar laws currently exist at the lower levels of American soccer. While Garber loves the idea, more research needs to be done before implementing it in MLS.
“We have work to do, collect more data before taking it to MLS,” Garber explained. “I would love to see that rule in MLS. We are sometimes seen as ‘the crazy yankees’ and ‘let them try things before we take them to the rest of the world’. We were one of the innovators of VAR. There isn’t a sport in the US that doesn’t have video review, and video review makes the game more real. The United States is the technological capital of the world.
MLS commissioner wants more than just a time wasting rule
Garber also talked about the idea of miking players and referees. The commissioner confirmed that he loves the idea. “I would do it in a heartbeat,” Garber proclaimed. “I have watched rugby matches with the referee on a GoPro camera. If that would ever happen, I doubt it. But why not mic a player? There is a delay in the transmission so that you do not have bad words.
Younger fans certainly seem to want more commitment to sports. More US leagues are bugging players. Major League Baseball even allowed interviews with players on the field during games during the 2022 season.
Most fans want interviews with referees after the game
One rule that almost all soccer fans would love to see implemented would be to allow referees to explain their decisions in a post-match interview. Garber certainly agrees. “When a referee has a problem, there’s no reason why the referee shouldn’t say, ‘It’s no different than the coach had a bad day or the player should have tagged that assistant, I had a bad day.’ That would humanize our referees. He would earn the respect of the fans and the technicians”, stated the commissioner.
These ideas would certainly shake things up in MLS. However, Garber did not express a time frame of these possible new rules and it remains to be seen when or if the ideas will be implemented.
PHOTO: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire
