Manchester United were recently on the receiving end of a 7-0 loss against their rivals, Liverpool. And FIFA could introduce a new mercy rule as per the events of the game. Particularly in terms of game time.
Even though there were seven goals scored, and ten substitutions made, there were only three minutes of added time. While even this might seem like too much considering the margin of defeat, there is a catch that spectators often don’t take into consideration at first.Â
FIFA considering mercy rule in games with heavy defeat margins
The decision made by the referee in the Manchester United vs Liverpool game was out of mercy to the losing team. However, according to Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s referees’ chief, there are obstacles to such a mercy rule being implemented in domestic leagues where goal difference is counted.
The main reason is that there is a chance Liverpool could miss out on Champions League qualification or the title on goal difference, as they have done in the past. As a result, shortening matches because of a heavy defeat in the moment could take away a good opportunity for the winning team to extend their goal difference.
Should the new rule be implemented, teams could be judged on head to head record to see who takes the upper spot in the league.
FIFA are planning to extend the length of their matches by adding significant amounts of injury time, as seen at the 2022 World Cup. And so, the mercy rule could work in the opposite direction of their ideas to make matches longer too.
