Five innovative rules that the ISL could use

The Indian Super League aims to popularise Indian football with the presence of marquee foreigners, involvement of corporates and celebrities, better television coverage, improved experience for fans in the stadiums etc. But perhaps there could also be a few innovations in rules to make the league even more interesting and attractive. Sportskeeda lists five such ideas.

#1 Tactical breaks

Louis Van Gaal made the most of water breaks

Water-breaks were widely used during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil to give players some respite in the hot and humid conditions. They have also been used in the I-League so there is no reason why the ISL shouldn’t have it. But irrespective of the weather, perhaps there can be one tactical break in each half to not only allow the players to get refreshed but also give the coaches an opportunity to make tactical changes. Netherlands coach Louis Van Gaal’s tactical tweaks during the water break in the second half of their round 16 clash against Mexico turned out to be the turning point and even Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has endorsed the idea. “I hope I am still in football when they give the coach the chance to stop the game during the first half once and during the second half once because you can make the game much better.” The ISL coaches would definitely agree.

#2 A point for every goal

The Emirates Cup uses this scoring system

Instead of having the traditional points system of awarding three for a win and one for a draw, the ISL could have some innovation where even the losing side will be able get something from the game. Perhaps a point can be given for every goal scored, something which is used in pre-season tournaments worldwide like the Emirates Cup. That way even a team that is losing by three or four goals, can get some points if they manage to get on the scoresheet. This scoring system would also encourage teams to attack more and thus produce plenty of goals for the fans to enjoy.

#3 Abandon draws; have shootouts

Penalty shootouts excite fans

Additionally the ISL could abandon draws completely and have penalty shootouts for every game. This used to be the case in the early days of Japan’s J-League when there would be no draws and even the losing team of the shootout would earn one point. Penalty shootouts always provide fans plenty of excitement and especially tend to light up stalemates. It would also increase the pressure on teams because even on a bad day they wouldn’t have the option of getting away with a point. Penalty shootouts certainly helped in the growth of J-League’s popularity in its early years and ISL can certainly follow that example.

#4 Sin-bins

Sin-bins would make the games more interesting

Sin-bins have also been proposed to be introduced in the UEFA Champions League by UEFA president Michel Platini. Instead of only providing a warning to players, a yellow card would mean a temporary expulsion for a specific duration (five or ten minutes). This would give the opposing team a numerical advantage and keeping that in mind maybe players will be more careful with challenges so as to avoid bookings. But even the team that suffers a numerical disadvantage for a few minutes can benefit as summed up Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. “Sometimes you see a guy is on the fringes of his temper, on a moody day. Maybe if the referee can take him out for 10 minutes – like in rugby – then it would be a chance for the manager to tell him to calm down, focus on his game. That would be better in the long run.” ISL could certainly adopt this and make the games more interesting.

#5 Rolling substitutions

Rolling substitutions would benefit marquee players

Like in five-a-side football, rolling substitutions could become an interesting option for the ISL to use. Rolling substitution basically means that a player who is substituted can later return to the pitch if needed. It allows some players to take a breather while the coach can introduce fresh pair of legs at regular intervals. This system could especially be tailor-made for ISL’s marquee players as most of them are retired stars. Instead of coming off after an hour or being a bit-part player, the marquee foreigners could effectively spend longer time on the pitch if rolling substitution is allowed. That way the fan-favourite marquee players will have a bigger impact on the field.