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Third of football fans want instant red cards for divers

Third of football fans want instant red cards for divers

Other rules fans would like to see include salary caps, 3pm televised kick-offs and a stop clock to accurately track injury time, according to the poll of 2,000 footie followers.
One in 10 opted for a hint of nostalgia by suggesting the return of the Golden Goal rule to decide games, with other fun suggestions including 'kick-ins' to replace throw-ins, and no offsides.
The research was commissioned by OLBG, which has also created its own live poll to find out which rules fans want changed the most.
Jake Ashton, football betting expert at the brand, said: "Football gets fans going and people spend lots of time and money following their favourite team.
'With the rules often evolving, it's great to see what fans would want introduced if they were given the opportunity to take charge.
'While we know lots on the list will never come to pass, there is definitely a case for some of them."
The research went on to reveal a quarter of those who had an opinion on the number of subs allowed in a game, want this changed back to a maximum of three.
Other things fans want reduced are the number of games available to watch (25 per cent).
Of these who said their screens are saturated with too much football, 40 per cent put the Europa Conference League as their top choice to chop.
When it comes to getting to games, a quarter (26 per cent) of those who watch football admit to never going to watch a match in person.
With three quarters (75 per cent) preferring to watch on TV.
TV isn't just popular for watching games, it also ranks first for getting footie fans their news (69 per cent), with online articles (53 per cent) and social media (44 per cent) completing the top trio.
Sitting in top spot in the table of fans favourite competitions is the Premier League with almost half (49 per cent) agreeing.
And 'goals' scored highest (66 per cent) on the list of things they love about watching or listening to the game.
Just as well, with the top players voted being Mo Salah (23 per cent), Lionel Messi (22 per cent) and Harry Kane (22 per cent) according to the OnePoll.com data.
There doesn't seem to be any need to inject more fun into football, with 52 per cent of fans not backing the suggestion of introducing NFL-style halftime shows into matches.
With seven in 10 (71 per cent) agreeing the game should get back to its roots, as it's become too commercialised.
Jake Ashton for OLBG added: 'Whether fans can get to the grounds or choose to watch football on TV, its important they always get a good experience.
'With a large portion of those who love the game agreeing it would be better sticking more to its roots, it shows the sport doesn't always need these over complicated rule changes.
'This is something rule makers should keep in mind – sometimes less is more.'

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