Napoli President Proposes Radical Football Rule Changes, Citing Sport's Future

Napoli's owner, Aurelio De Laurentiis, has voiced concerns about the future of football, suggesting a series of alterations to the sport's format. The club, which recently ended a 33-year wait for the Serie A title in the 2022-23 season, is currently not in contention for major honours this campaign.

De Laurentiis, 76, articulated his vision to The Athletic, aiming to capture the interest of younger generations. His primary suggestion involves shortening football matches from the current 90 minutes to a total of 50 minutes, divided into two 25-minute halves. Crucially, this would emphasise continuous play, with the clock stopping less frequently.

"No 1: I will reduce from 45 minutes each (half) to 25 minutes," De Laurentiis stated. "But also you cannot stay down on the field and play around like an actor! 'NO - you will go OUT!'"

A second proposed reform targets disciplinary actions. De Laurentiis advocates for discarding conventional yellow and red cards. Instead, he proposes a system inspired by rugby, where players cautioned would be temporarily removed from the game for five minutes before being allowed to return. A more severe infraction, equivalent to a red card, would result in a 20-minute absence from play.

"I will never use a red card and a yellow card. I would say 'YOU - get out for five minutes [for a yellow card)!' And 'YOU - get out for 20 minutes for a red card!'", he explained.

Furthermore, De Laurentiis believes the offside rule requires amendment to promote a more attacking style of play and increase goal-scoring opportunities. He suggests that forwards should be afforded more leniency to be considered onside when positioned to score.

"Another thing!" he continued. "Too few goals! So it is not spectacular. You must make more goals. And to make more goals, you must change the rules.

"You cannot (cancel) a goal just for a few millimetres… the offside must be changed, a lot."

He concluded by stressing the importance of adapting to new demographics: "The new generation is our gold. If we don't please them, we will die. You will not have the same participation as you had in the last 100 years."