As an American who loves sports, soccer included I have a very American perspective on the game. I understand that FIFA isn't going to give us instant replay (and I agree with the decision), but there are a few minor tweaks that I believe would serve the beauty of the game well.
After watching the United States flame out of yet another World Cup I've had a good amount of time to think about why people in America don't like the game. I think one of the main reasons is because of the normally unpenalized time wasting.
I believe that the United States lost the game on their own because of poor finishing, a defense that often collapses, and a few poor tactical decisions. However the final 25 minutes of that game highlighted everything that is wrong with time wasting. Here are a few issues and possible solutions for FIFA to deal with the issues.
Injuries- Some injuries are real, soccer is an extremely grueling sport and the players do put their bodies on the line. The issue comes in when a player dives, looking like he has been shot by three snipers from three different spots, rolls around on the ground writhing in pain, is carried off the field only to hop right back up and be waved right back on by the ref. So a player can fake an injury to waste time and in the long run it doesn't affect the team at all.
Solution- After being on the ground for 10 seconds and failing to get up a player is initially penalized by being forced to stay off the field for 30 seconds. For every 5 seconds he is on the ground after that he has to stay off the field for an additional 10 seconds. The assignment of keeping this time can be delegated to the 4th official who is on the sideline. The addition of this rule would provide a punishment to faking injuries by making the time wasting team play a man down for a certain amount of time or by forcing them to use a substitution.
Substitutions- You may see a team substitute a player in stoppage time just to keep the ball out of play for a few extra seconds. Often the player will walk slowly across the field, shaking the hands of his teammates, stopping to cramp up, and even exchanging words with the referee. This allows 30 or more seconds to run off the clock and often that time goes unaccounted for.
Solution- The player being substitued out of the game should be allowed to go to the nearest sideline or goal line to speed up the process. If the player fails to get off the field in a reasonable amount of time, say 10 seconds, the substitute coming in is held off the field until the next chance the team would have to substitute.
Goal kicks and Throw-ins- You'll often see a player drop the ball and play with his shin guards before picking the ball up to throw it in. However before he can throw it in, a teammate arrives beside him to take the ball from him before aimlessly looking around before finally throwing the ball in at least 30 seconds later. The same happens on goal kicks as the keeper often moves the ball and slowly walks back before finally approaching and kicking the ball.
Solution- Put a time limit on how much time the player has to get the ball back into the field of play. Much like the 24 second shot clock in basketball, why not put a 10 second shot clock from the time that a player touches the ball until the time it is in play. If the ball doesn't get into play in this amount of time then you can issue a yellow card to the offending player and possession would immediately change.
While FIFA is probably to traditional to ever change, and the people outside of America would throw a fit if they did, it would greatly help the popularity of the game if they were to at least try and do away with the "art" of wasting time. I know I for one would enjoy the game much more without the constant time wasting.
