Major League Soccer likes to do soccer their way, from countdown clocks, overtime during the regular season, and the old-school MLS shootout. It’s not MLS until MLS changes the rules.
In the case of injuries, the league has established that any player who requires medical staff to come on and take the player off the field must wait a period of two minutes to return to the pitch.
The rule was created as a way to prevent time-wasting, but last weekend the rule was put to the test when Lionel Messi was kicked and needed to be attended to by medical staff. On the touchline, after a visible foul, Inter Miami was forced to play with 10 men as Messi sat out for two minutes, ineffectively “punishing” his team for a foul he had received.
Inter Miami Staff Speak on MLS Time-Wasting Rule
In a media round with reporters, Inter Miami’s assistant coach Javier Morales pointed out that MLS will need to do a better job of knowing when the two minutes should be applied and when they shouldn’t.
“What we are saying is that the rules cannot be black and white; there must be room for interpretation, especially with this being tested. It’s not something that comes from FIFA; it’s a trial being conducted, and there needs to be an interpretation.
“In Leo’s case, we are losing the game 2-0, there is a collision with two players, and you (the press) know that Leo is the player who wastes the least time and stays on the ground the least. He is in pain, he has to leave because of the collision, and we are not trying to waste time; we want to win the game. There must be an interpretation of the rule in such situations,” Morales stated.
Due to that collision, Lionel Messi not only was not on the field for a key free kick, but it also resulted in him missing out on his team’s match against Orlando City on Wednesday.
