History of Football Rule Changes: A Closer Look
History of Soccer Football Rule Changes – Introduction
It should be noted that the main reason for all official football rule changes is to improve the spirit of the game and to make the game better in every possible way. Essentially, we will look at the major changes in the 19th century and the 20th century. As you can understand after reading this article, the game has undergone considerable rule changes over a period of time and this will be an ongoing process. As times change and new vulnerabilities are pointed out, the official rules of the game will continue to change to fix or improve the game.
Initial rule changes
We must not forget that soccer existed hundreds of years before and people used to play soccer with different rules during the early days of soccer.
There were no proper common rules prior to 1863 to govern the game and changes to the rules of soccer were frequent during those early periods. One of those two early rules that gained popularity are the Cambridge rules, first drafted at the University of Cambridge in 1848, and the Sheffield Football Club rules, formed by public school alumni in 1857.
In the early 1860s, there were increasing attempts in England to unify and reconcile the various football games that were played in public schools and in the industrial north under the Sheffield Rules.
Changes of the 19th century
The first uniform rules and regulations for soccer were formed in 1863. The Cambridge Rules are taken as a basis and rewritten to arrive at the first official laws of the game. In 1866, the offside law was changed to allow players to be in play as long as there were three players between the ball and the goal.
The year 1891 is a very important year for the rules of soccer in particular and the game in general. A game-changing rule called “the penalty kick” was first introduced to the game. A penalty kick is awarded against a team that commits an offense within the 18-yard area, also called the penalty area. This drastically changed the game and offered an immense advantage to the team receiving a penalty.
Changes of the 20th century
The year 1925 saw another major change in the “offside” rule of soccer. The offside law that was devised in 1866 initially allowed players to be in play as long as there were three players between the ball and the goal. The 1925 amendment changed the number from three to two players.
Substitutes are allowed for the first time in 1958. But this is limited to only one injured goalkeeper and one injured player.
The card system was introduced in 1970. The red and yellow card system was introduced for the 1970 FIFA World Cup finals as a way of warning or penalizing a player. The referees indicate that a player has committed an offense and the red card represents a more serious offense than the yellow card.
In 1990 the offside law was modified again and this time in favor of the attacker. In accordance with this change in the law, the attacker is now said to be in play if he is at the same level as the second-to-last defender.
Other changes include a ban on goalkeepers from handing back passes in 1992. The technical area is introduced in the Laws of the Game in 1994, and the Fourth Official follows the following year. Initially, those who were known as “Line Judges” were renamed “Assistant Referees” in 1996. In 1997, the Laws were revised once again to improve the game.