Brasileirao adopts new rules from the 23rd round
The Brazilian championship enters a real test of impact this weekend. From the 23rd round, Serie A begins applying a package of rules against unsporting play and time-wasting, aimed directly at increasing the ball-in-play time and shifting long-standing habits among players, coaching staffs and referees.
What changes from this round on
The most sensitive change involves medical treatment. A player who asks for assistance on the pitch must stay off for at least 60 seconds before returning, temporarily leaving his team a man down. In the goalkeeper’s case, the rule tightens further: an outfield player leaves for a minute. The CBF’s reading is simple and harsh. Much of the lost time came from stoppages used to cool the game down, protect a result and even create space for instructions from the bench.
Visual five-second counts also come into force for throw-ins and goal kicks taken with deliberate delay. If the throw is not taken, possession switches sides. If the goal kick is delayed, it becomes a corner for the opposition. In substitutions, the player coming off has 10 seconds to leave the pitch; if he wastes time, his replacement only comes on a minute later.
Why the CBF decided to tighten up
The numbers help explain the urgency. Today Serie A records 52 minutes and 54 seconds of ball-in-play time, below the main European leagues and MLS. In that comparison it only comes out ahead of Argentina. The target set by the federation is to reach 57 minutes, a jump of about 9% on the current average. That is no small detail. It is almost a new game inside the same game.
According to the calculations presented to the clubs, there is fat to trim on four fronts: fouls, slow restarts, medical treatment and use of VAR. On those items alone, the average loss exceeds six minutes. If enforcement is strict, the Brazilian league could shorten one of the tournament’s best-known distortions: matches that are intense on the clock but far too chopped up on the pitch.
The practical effect on the championship
Much of these measures had already been tested internationally, but the challenge now is domestic. Coherent refereeing will be decisive. Without a uniform standard, the new rulebook risks becoming noise. With one, it could change strategy, affect squads and punish teams that live off slowing the tempo.
There is also a relevant adjustment to the video protocol: VAR can now correct a second yellow card issued by mistake, an objective incident that previously escaped review. Taken together, the message is clear. The Brasileirao wants less playacting, fewer stoppages and more football. It remains to be seen whether players and referees will buy into the idea from the very first round of the new package.
