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The World Cup final between Spain and Argentina descended into chaos, brawling, and 46 combined fouls—exposing deep flaws in soccer’s antiquated rulebook that FIFA stubbornly refuses to modernize.

Five billion viewers tuned into this summer’s tournament, hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, generating over $15 billion in revenue. Yet the July 19 championship match gave the world an ugly showcase of everything wrong with the Beautiful Game’s governance.

One Referee Can’t Police 72,000 Square Feet

The NBA stations three referees on a 4,700-square-foot court. Soccer expects a single official to monitor a field exceeding 72,000 square feet—larger than an entire NFL gridiron. Sideline assistants can flag offside calls, but they’re not permitted to venture onto the pitch for closer inspection of mid-field action.

The result? Players constantly exploit the overwhelmed referee through theatrical exaggeration. After contentious calls, angry competitors surround the official, who has little recourse beyond issuing cards one at a time. The referee becomes vulnerable to player intimidation and crowd manipulation.

Flopping Pays Too Well

With only one referee watching, every player is incentivized to fake fouls. A convincing dive near the penalty area can yield a free kick, a penalty shot, or a card against the opponent. Despite a late-1990s rule allowing yellow cards for “simulation,” referees rarely enforce it—the punishment is too severe for a subjective call, and officials fear accusations of bias.

The practice has corroded trust entirely. Spectators can’t distinguish genuine injuries from performance art. Tensions escalate as players seek on-field payback. Argentina’s post-match attacks on Spanish players were the predictable culmination of 120 minutes of mutual frustration.

VAR Creates More Problems Than It Solves

Video Assistant Referee technology arrived in 2018, but the rules governing its use remain murky. Players and coaches technically cannot request reviews, yet referees routinely appear bullied into ordering them by histrionic appeals. The NFL limits coaches to two challenges per game—soccer could easily adopt similar structure or restrict review requests to team captains.

The Gray Zone of “Acceptable” Contact

This World Cup featured unprecedented levels of open shoving. Goal keepers muscled opponents with both hands during corners. Defenders employed jiu-jitsu arm twists combined with shirt tugging to slow attackers. The rules offer too much latitude for referees to excuse flagrant contact based on perceived “intent.”

Stop the Clock Already

Modern timekeeping exists. The NBA, NFL, and NHL all use game clocks that stop during delays. Soccer inexplicably keeps the clock running, then adds arbitrary “stoppage time” rounded to the nearest minute. Referees grant less stoppage time when one team leads comfortably, and everyone understands the trailing team gets “one final chance” before the whistle—regardless of actual time remaining.

Team Fouls Go Unpunished

Referees have four options for rough play: stern warnings, free kicks, yellow cards, and red cards. This incentivizes teams to distribute fouls among players—each competitor has one yellow card “to give.” The NBA penalizes teams after five fouls per quarter with free throws. Hockey sends offenders to the penalty box, granting power plays. Soccer offers nothing comparable.

Penalty Kicks Are an Absurd Tiebreaker

Deciding a championship through penalty kicks is equivalent to settling an NBA game at the free-throw line. The shootout bears no resemblance to the team sport that preceded it.

Alternatives exist. Remove goalkeepers and play until one team leads by three. Reduce each squad by three players and continue until someone scores. Move the goals closer together. Major League Baseball now places a runner on second base to accelerate extra innings—soccer could show similar creativity.

The world’s most popular sport shouldn’t remain shackled to nineteenth-century conventions when five billion people are watching its showcase event devolve into mayhem.