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Napoli owner, Aurelio De Laurentiis, has proposed sweeping changes to football amid fears the sport “will die.”
Napoli, the current Serie A champions after ending a 33-year wait for the title in the 2022–23 season, are set to finish this campaign without a major honour. They sit second in Serie A, nine points behind leaders Inter Milan with six games remaining, and have already been eliminated from both the Coppa Italia and the Champions League. Concerned about the future of the game, the 76-year-old has outlined a series of ideas aimed at keeping younger generations engaged.
Speaking to The Athletic, De Laurentiis suggested reducing match duration from 90 minutes to 50, with two 25-minute halves and a focus on in-play time rather than stoppage time.
“No 1: I will reduce from 45 minutes each half to 25 minutes,” he said.
“But also, you cannot stay down on the field and play around like an actor. No — you will go out.”
His second proposal would see the removal of yellow and red cards, replacing them with a system similar to rugby’s sin-bin. Under this model, players would be sent off for five minutes for lesser offences and 20 minutes for more serious ones.
“I will never use a red card and a yellow card. I would say, ‘You — get out for five minutes!’ And ‘You — get out for 20 minutes!’” he added.
De Laurentiis also called for changes to the offside rule to encourage more attacking play and increase goal-scoring.
“Too few goals — it is not spectacular. You must score more goals, and to do that, you must change the rules,” he said.
“You cannot cancel a goal for just a few millimetres. The offside must be changed — a lot.”
He concluded by stressing the importance of attracting younger fans.
“The new generation is our gold. If we don’t please them, we will die. You will not have the same participation as you had in the last 100 years.”
