Neville Praises FIFA's World Cup Rule Shake-Up, Though Keane Questions Timing

Gary Neville has given his seal of approval to FIFA's raft of World Cup reforms, singling out the governing body's tighter substitution protocol as a standout improvement to the beautiful game.

Eight regulatory changes are set to take effect at the tournament, spanning everything from hydration stoppages to VAR tweaks. But it's the new 10-second substitution mandate that's caught Neville's attention most forcefully. Under the fresh rules, departing players must exit via the nearest touchline within 10 seconds, or face a consequence: their replacement cannot enter the field for a full 60 seconds.

Japan got a real-world demonstration of the rule's bite during a warm-up fixture on Sunday, when Iceland found themselves a man down and unable to get a substitute on quickly enough, only for the Japanese to punish them with a second-half goal.

Speaking on The Overlap, Neville was effusive in his praise. "I think this is an unbelievable introduction – time-limited substitutions," he declared. "I love that. It's so annoying watching players walk off slowly. The players and teams are gaming the system."

He went on to defend FIFA against its usual critics, at least on this front. "You can criticise FIFA for many things but I do think they get their referee stuff right. I think those are pretty good introductions and will make the game better for the fans."

Another significant change will punish dawdling during throw-ins and goal-kicks, with possession flipping to the opposition if more than five seconds elapse before the ball is back in play.

Neville proved equally enthusiastic about this measure, having grown weary of the stalling tactics witnessed across English football's top tiers. "I'm massively up for the throw-in counter," he stated. "The amount of time that is taken in the Premier League… I've lost count of how many times we mentioned that last season. So I like that one."

He elaborated on the broader problem: "What we've witnessed over the past 12 months is teams stopping the game for a minute to prepare for set-pieces. I'm talking about League Two games as well as the Premier League, the ball is out of play for so long. I think it's a good introduction."

Among the other regulatory changes is a ban on mouth-covering during confrontational moments with opponents or officials—a rule introduced following Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni's alleged racial abuse of Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior in a Champions League encounter this season.

Ian Wright backed this addition. "You can't prove things if players are covering their mouths, I think that's a good one. I quite like that, that's good for me."

Yet not everyone is entirely sold on the timing of these pace-quickening measures. Roy Keane voiced a practical concern: the tournament's notorious climatic conditions could undermine the entire philosophy.

"Some of the rules are about the speed of play but it's strange they've brought them in now when we're talking about the conditions being so tough for the players," Keane observed. "If ever players will want to slow the game down it will be now given the heat in some of these venues."