Efforts to cut down on time-wasting are laudable. But there are flaws in the new scheme that need to be tweaked before a worldwide rollout
Lionel Messi was not happy. It was a little over 40 minutes into Inter Miami’s trip to Quebec to take on CF Montréal this past Saturday and the star-studded Eastern Conference leaders were 2-0 down. But it was not that Miami were losing that had vexed Messi. He just wanted to be on the pitch.
Miami had won a free kick 30-yards from goal, slightly right of centre – prime Messi territory. Yet he was not allowed to take it. He’d received treatment on the pitch a minute earlier after being fouled by Montréal defender George Campbell. Due to a new set of rules adopted this season to crack down on time-wasting, Messi had to wait on the sideline for two minutes before being allowed to re-enter the game.
