The latest high-profile scandal related to a judicial error that occurred at Euro 2012 in the match Ukraine - England, confirmed the need for new changes to the rules of the game of football. An unscored goal by the Hungarian judges' team against the English team made FIFA President Joseph Blatter admit that it was time to amend the rules for defining a goal, perhaps now they will be able to do it using video systems. Thus, soon we should expect new changes in football laws.
It should be recognized that football is the most conservative sports game in which the rules change, supplement and improve not so often. Since the advent of this sport, it has changed very little. But this, probably, is one of the secrets of its popularity.
How it all began?
The first rules of the game of football were approved in December 1863. Adopted by the Football Association of England, they were far from perfect. They did not say anything about a penalty, substitutions were not allowed, the goal was without nets, and the judge had to be out of bounds. But the simplicity of the rules and their understandability led to the fact that football gradually conquered the planet.
In 1886, IFAB, the International Council of the Football Association, was created in Britain, which has since been responsible for the rules of the game of football. It is this body at its meetings that makes decisions on making additions or changes to the code of football laws, consisting of 17 points.
How are the new rules adopted?
No matter how important the proposed changes are, they are not ratified quickly. Initially, the proposal is considered at meetings of FIFA or the confederations that make up the IFAB. Then a decision is made to test the innovation. For this, tournaments are held under the auspices of the International Football Federation, and the terms are stipulated - at least six months, and often a year. And only after the innovation has justified itself one hundred percent, it is approved at the IFAB meeting.
All this takes a lot of time, but, nevertheless, the rules of the game of football are gradually changing. Although some of them have been preserved in their original form until today and continue to operate. Let's try to recall the most significant events that have increased the entertainment of game number 1 in the world.
Milestones:1874 - teams after the break change the goal. For rudeness, players can be removed from the field.
1877 - match duration set - football games can last up to 90 minutes.
1878 - judges began to use the whistle.
1883 - the introduction of the ball due to the sideline began to be carried out with two hands, and not with the foot.
1891 - penalty kicks began, side judges appeared, and the chief referee entered the field.
1903 - goalkeepers are allowed to play with their hands in the penalty area.
1933 - numbers appeared on athletes' t-shirts.
1969 - substitutions permitted during the match
1970 - judges began to use red and yellow cards.
1981 - introduced a rule to remove a player for foul language.
1987 - the referee must add playing time for all delays of the match, including due to injuries and substitutions.
1991 - introduced the rule of foul of last resort.
1993 - goalkeepers are forbidden to take the ball with their hands after a pass made by the foot.
1995 - Three replacements are allowed.
1998 - start scoring goals scored by direct shots from the goal.
What else can you expect?
When performing free-kicks, the “wall” must be installed at a distance of nine meters from the ball, which the referees manage to do extremely rarely. Players of the defending team by any means try to reduce this distance. One way to deal with this is to apply a special spray to the lawn in front of the “wall” of the line, which disappears after a few minutes. This innovation at the last America’s Cup was successfully tested and will probably be included in the set of rules soon, which will make the game of football even more spectacular.