12-23-2018, 02:14 AM
The rules of most sports are not static over the years: they have to be changed every now and then. Sometimes it'll be to better ensure a fair playing field for all competitors; other times; it'll be to spice up action which had previously grown stale. However, not all of these rule changes work out: some of them turn out to be very ill-advised, and end up backfiring completely.
One of my favourite examples of this was from the 1994 Caribbean Cup . This tournament resolved draws by using a special variant of the 'Golden Goal' rules: the first team to score would win, and it would count as two goals. This was intended to lead to a more intense and exciting game - which it did, but for entirely the wrong reasons.
In the final qualifying match, Barbados were facing Grenada - and they needed to win by at least two goals in order to qualify for the tournament (otherwise, Grenada would qualify). With seven minutes to go in the match, Barbados were leading 2-1: it wouldn't be enough for them to qualify. They could have tried for another goal to make it 3-1 - but then, somebody on the team realised something: if they drew 2-2, then they would have a chance of making it 4-2 by scoring again in extra time, when it would count as double. So, Barbados deliberately scored an own goal, in order to take the score to 2-2 . But then, the Grenadian players immediately realised that they could do the same thing - so, you had the ridiculous situation where Grenada were desperately trying to score an own goal, and Barbados were desperately trying to stop Grenada from scoring an own goal . In the end, Barbados held on, and the score at the end of full time was 2-2. This meant the match continued into extra time....where Barbados were the first to score, thus getting the 4-2 victory they needed to qualify for the tournament.
Needless to say, this rule was never used again . Can you think of any more silly rules like this?
One of my favourite examples of this was from the 1994 Caribbean Cup . This tournament resolved draws by using a special variant of the 'Golden Goal' rules: the first team to score would win, and it would count as two goals. This was intended to lead to a more intense and exciting game - which it did, but for entirely the wrong reasons.
In the final qualifying match, Barbados were facing Grenada - and they needed to win by at least two goals in order to qualify for the tournament (otherwise, Grenada would qualify). With seven minutes to go in the match, Barbados were leading 2-1: it wouldn't be enough for them to qualify. They could have tried for another goal to make it 3-1 - but then, somebody on the team realised something: if they drew 2-2, then they would have a chance of making it 4-2 by scoring again in extra time, when it would count as double. So, Barbados deliberately scored an own goal, in order to take the score to 2-2 . But then, the Grenadian players immediately realised that they could do the same thing - so, you had the ridiculous situation where Grenada were desperately trying to score an own goal, and Barbados were desperately trying to stop Grenada from scoring an own goal . In the end, Barbados held on, and the score at the end of full time was 2-2. This meant the match continued into extra time....where Barbados were the first to score, thus getting the 4-2 victory they needed to qualify for the tournament.
Needless to say, this rule was never used again . Can you think of any more silly rules like this?
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