In the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, the characters played Calvinball—a game with ever-changing rules. Now, real sports seem to be following suit.
Match officials are enforcing tweaks to the laws that have hardly been tested. The result?
Drama, 'mistaken identities,' and widespread confusion.
FIFA's Annual Rule Changes Create Chaos
FIFA insists on applying annual law changes at the World Cup, even though they are barely tested.
The International Football Association Board (Ifab) has half the vote on law changes, but FIFA decides when to implement them.
This year, laws changed on July 1, but competitions starting before that date could delay implementation.
Yet FIFA chose to enforce new rules at the World Cup, leading to unexpected incidents.
One example is the 'mistaken identity' clause, rewritten to allow review of yellow and red cards when the wrong player is penalized.
In Paraguay's opener against the USA, Miguel Almirón flopped, and Tim Ream was booked. Replays cleared Ream, and Almirón was booked for simulation.
In the quarter-finals, Switzerland's Breel Embolo was sent off after a yellow card to Argentina's Leandro Paredes was reversed.
Embolo's second yellow left Switzerland with 10 men in a 1-1 match they lost in extra time.
New Offenses and Confusing Interpretations
Ifab approved a new sending-off offense: covering the mouth when communicating with an opponent in a provocative manner.
Almirón did exactly that in Paraguay's second game and was sent off.
Another rule requires substituted players to leave the field within 10 seconds, unless safety or injury prevents it.
This allows players to feign injury to slow the game.
Referees are also inconsistent with injury stoppages. Play often continues while a player lies injured, leaving teams baffled.
Some rules are ignored entirely. Egypt's Mostafa Ziko took off his shirt celebrating a goal—a yellow-card offense—but was not booked.
Similarly, homophobic chants from Mexico fans have gone unpunished despite protocols to suspend matches.
Meanwhile, officials split hairs on other calls.
Croatia's equalizer against Portugal was ruled out because a sensor detected the ball brushing Igor Matanovic's hair, putting Josko Gvardiol offside.
If Matanovic were bald, the goal might have stood.
The handball law has been rewritten so many times that it is now incomprehensible. Fans are bewildered by the constant changes.
FIFA and Ifab must communicate clearly. Instead, they implement untested rules, turning top-level sport into a version of Calvinball.
