Address
To whom it may concern,
My name is …. and I am an……., a football fan. Over recent years, it is frustrating that the game we love seems to
have become more confusing and unfamiliar, despite the introduction of new technologies designed to make
football more enjoyable. Whilst I didn’t have the talent to make it as a pro footballer, I am now a trainee lawyer and
having looked at the current rules of the game along with fellow fans, players and legal professionals, it’s clear to us
that some simple changes could make a world of difference.
I appreciate that you are extremely busy and likely receive thousands of communications daily so first of all, thank
you for reading this far! I wondered, if you had the time, if you’d consider looking at our amendments to the current
International Football Association Board Laws of the Game for 2020/2021 that I have enclosed. We have focused on
four areas that regularly cause controversy: handball, offside, straight red cards and the VAR protocol. The current
rules as they are written are in black, our suggested changes are marked in red and our additional notes are in blue.
Just as a brief summary of what we’ve suggested, we propose the following:
·
VAR’s protocol focus shifts away from only overturning ‘clear and obvious errors’ and instead, to focus on getting
the correct decision, regardless of how ‘bad' an error made by the referee was.
·
VAR replays be shown on the big screens at grounds and conversations between on-field referees and the VAR
officials be made audible for viewers at home (as used successfully in rugby, tennis, cricket etc.)
·
Scrapping the VAR offside ‘crosshairs’ and instead, referees review tight offside calls themselves at the on-screen TV
monitor, if they can’t be sure that a player is clearly offside, the advantage is given to the attacking player (as seen in
the MLS)
·
Handball only be considered below the point of the shoulder (not the ‘t-shirt line’)
·
No handball at close proximities unless a player can reasonably avoid making handball contact
·
No straight red cards for accidental contact as the last defender, even if this denies a clear goalscoring opportunity
·
The VAR team at Stockley park should consist of a panel which includes at least one former pro to allow for common
sense decision making
If you happen to agree with any of the ideas we’ve outlined, please feel free to recommend or discuss them with
others in the game as you see fit. We are not looking for credit or recognition, we just want football to be the best
game it can be.
Many thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope you’re keeping well during these uncertain times.
Best wishes,
Name