Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has called for a major overhaul of football’s rules, including reducing matches to 50 minutes and replacing red and yellow cards with sin bins. The 76-year-old, who has led Napoli from the third tier to two Serie A titles, believes the changes are necessary to make the game more spectacular and appeal to younger audiences.
Speaking to The Athletic, De Laurentiis suggested cutting each half from 45 to 25 minutes. He also proposed eliminating yellow and red cards in favour of temporary suspensions: five minutes for a minor offence and 20 minutes for a serious one. 'If you stay down and play like an actor, you will go out,' he said.
Another key proposal is a revision of the offside law, with De Laurentiis arguing that goals should not be disallowed for marginal offside calls. 'Too few goals! It is not spectacular. You must change the rules,' he added, echoing a similar push by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger for a 'daylight' interpretation.
The Canadian Premier League is currently trialling Wenger’s proposed offside rule, which aims to promote attacking play. De Laurentiis stressed that football must evolve to keep the attention of the 'new generation,' warning: 'If we don’t please them, we will die.'
