One of the strongest images of the Qatar Cup in the first round of the group sentence is that of Iran’s goalkeeper, Alireza Beiranvand, bleeding from the nose after a collision in the area with teammate Seued Hosseini.
It happened in the debut match of the Asian team, on Monday (21), against England.
After the service on the field, which lasted about eight minutes, Beiranvand tried to continue, but could not.
The conclusion of the doctors (confirmed later after tests) was that the goalkeeper had suffered a concussion – a temporary dysfunction in the brain, with effects such as headache, memory loss, dizziness, lack of coordination and mental confusion, among others.
The number 1 shirt had to be replaced, but because he complied with FIFA’s protocol, Iran did not “burn” one of his exchanges in the match – he was able to do this and five others.
FIFA says: “If there are signs or symptoms of brain injury or suspected concussive injury, despite the absence of signs or symptoms, the doctor/therapist should remove the player from the pitch for further examination (using a concussion substitution, if necessary)”.
Substitution by concussion is one of the novelties implemented in this World Cup, related to the game and its rules.
Another is precisely the allowed number of substitutions. There were three, became five.
This expansion was implemented in football in several countries as a result of the Covid pandemic, as a way to preserve the physical well-being of players. The coronavirus lost strength, but the measure caught on and remained, reaching the World Cup.
Another change occurred in the number of players called up for the World Cup, 26 (before there were 23), which gives coaches options in case of injuries during the competition, in addition to more tactical alternatives.
In the field of technology, the novelty is due to the semi-automatic impediment.
With 12 cameras at the top of the stadium to track the ball and up to 29 data points for each player, offside doubt can be resolved in much less time.
In theory, the VAR (video assistant referee) would take 20 seconds, and no more than one minute, to inform the field referee whether or not the athlete was in legal playing condition.
Still regarding refereeing, this is the first Cup with women in refereeing, six in all (three female referees and three line assistants).
The best known is the French Stéphanie Frappart, who acted as fourth official in Mexico v Poland and Portugal v Ghana. The linesman Neuza Back is the Brazilian representative.
Finally, there is a measure that affects goalkeepers in penalty kicks.
The goalkeeper, when the batsman kicks the ball, first had to have at least one foot on the goal line. Now one of the feet can be “partly” on the line or even behind it.
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