FIFA continue to meddle with the rules at every World Cup it would seem.
From goal line technology, to hydration breaks to VAR and rules about covering your mouth when you speak, each edition of the World Cup comes with some rule changes.
Of course, in the past we’ve seen rule changes that have affected extra time, with Golden Goal and Silver Goal both being in effect at different tournaments.
Now, speaking on Stick to Football, Gary Neville has shared his verdict on a proposed rule change he’s heard about.
Gary Neville discusses new penalty shootout idea
Neville shared an idea he’d seen about a new format for penalty shootouts.
The idea is that if it’s a draw after 90 minutes, teams take part in a penalty shootout before extra time begins.
However, the caveat is that they get a 0.5 goal boost for winning the penalty shootout.
“So it’s been suggested that at the end of 90 minutes you have the penalty shootout. Whoever wins it, and I don’t mind it, I think it’s quite good,” Neville said.
“At the end of 90 minutes you have the penalty shootout, whoever wins gets half a goal lead. So if it’s 1-1, it’d be 1.5-1 so you have to attack. And it means extra time rather than being dull, people will be properly going for it because they know they’re 0.5 down.”
This does sound like a good rule change, but there are a few caveats.
Firstly, the language around this ought to change. An extra 0.5 goals makes things confusing, instead it should just be stated that if extra time ends in a draw the team that won the early penalty shootout would be classed as victors.
Also, the format of the actual shootout would have to change. Five penalties per team takes too long if it’s a break between full-time and extra time, perhaps a best of seven penalties system could work better, or, failing that, even sudden death.
As Neville says, extra time is often a dull period, so any change to make things more exciting would be welcomed.
