Radical changes! German referee Patrick Ittrich proposes sweeping modifications to football rules

Ittrich's ideas are anything but conventional.

Details: 46-year-old German referee Patrick Ittrich has made a statement suggesting a series of changes to football's laws:

• “For a tactical foul in the middle of the pitch, a free-kick should be awarded 17 metres from goal.”

According to Ittrich, this would reduce the number of such fouls.

• “If a player rolls over on the ground three times and needs medical help, call the doctor and make the player wait on the sideline for 3 minutes.”

This rule would help minimize time-wasting by players.

• “If a player insults the referee, send him off for 10 minutes to calm down. Let him ride a bike to warm up before returning to the pitch.”

This would help cool players down and keep emotions in check.

• "How can a referee end up surrounded by 10 players after a decision? In such cases, red cards should be shown immediately."

Ittrich believes teams should play shorthanded if they can't control their emotions and harass the referee.

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These ideas have not been formally proposed and are more of a personal wish list from Patrick, but fans are split over their merit: some believe these punishments are too harsh and could negatively affect the game, while others support the changes and think such measures would restore order to football matches.

Patrick Ittrich made his professional refereeing debut in 2016. This season, he has officiated three matches as the main referee, issuing a total of 11 yellow cards and 1 red card.

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