It is safe to say that soccer is a low-scoring sport. This game is decided by the finest of margins, but it is also a sport with big amounts of variance and unpredictability. We know this as a fact, and it occurs in all levels of competition, particularly the youth setups.
There is a bigger chance in youth soccer that there are overwhelmingly good teams that blow away the competition and other teams that can’t compete with them at all.
This can lead to huge wins, which can damage the morale and confidence of young players who are on the losing side. The mercy rule exists to help prevent such situations.
What is a Mercy Rule in Soccer?
The mercy rule essentially ends the game early when one team leads the other by a significant margin that may not be overcome. Preserving the dignity of the losing team, reducing the chance of injury (since the result has already been decided), and maintaining sportsmanship are the objectives of the mercy rule.
The Mercy Rule is not a new concept in sports; baseball and American football are two sports that have this rule. However, it is not a widely recognized or accepted rule in soccer, but some use it.
How Many Points is a Mercy Rule in Soccer?
The term ‘points’ in soccer is the goal differential since soccer is a sport different from basketball, baseball, and American football.
Since the mercy rule is not recognized by the biggest governing bodies in world soccer, the goal margin at which a game should be stopped will vary depending on the rulemaking in the tournament being played.
In high school soccer, for instance, some states have made a rule that a ten-goal difference before halftime (or after an hour or more as well) will trigger the mercy rule to go into effect. Some other states could decide on eight, and so on.
Can You Get Mercy Ruled in College Soccer?
This mercy rule has not been officially introduced to college soccer (it’s the same with college football and other similar sports), but the rule in high school soccer does exist, as mentioned previously.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association, or the NCAA for short, does not recognize the mercy rule. Friendly matches between college soccer teams or tournaments/leagues not recognized by the NCAA should be able to implement the rule if they feel the need to.
The mercy rule is unlikely to appear at the college level because most of the players in college, though young, are already mature enough to deal with big defeats.
At that level, the gap between the very good teams and the very bad ones would have been bridged since the players would have developed, and the ones who didn’t would find it harder to survive the next level.
Every level of soccer is meant to prepare you for the professional game but in America, the college level is one of the final steps to take before moving up to the elite level. Of course, the highest level requires mental toughness.
Is There a Mercy Rule in Professional Soccer?
The Mercy rule is currently not recognized by the top footballing organizations like FIFA, but there have been discussions in those high places about its introduction and implementation.
After Liverpool’s 7-0 destruction of Manchester United in the English Premier League’s 2022/2023 season, Pierluigi Collina, who is FIFA’s head of refereeing, suggested that a mercy rule should be brought into the sport to end matches like these earlier.
“Maybe in the future, we may consider saying that additional time has not to be given at the end of the match if there is a difference bigger than X goals between the two teams, but that would be in the game’s laws,” Collina said.
FIFA’s refereeing chief also sighted Spain’s 6-0 FIFA World Cup triumph over Costa Rica. He implied that with a new mercy rule, teams won’t need to play heavy stoppage time in blowouts.
“Now it is common sense—but common sense is not common sense if it affects someone. In Spain v Costa Rica at the World Cup, Spain was leading 6-0, and eight minutes of additional time were given.
“Spain scored one [more] goal in additional time [to make it 7-0], and that goal could have cost Spain or Costa Rica qualification for the next round of the competition.”
Does the Absence of a Mercy Rule Affect the Sport?
My short answer is no. Football is unpredictable, and huge results and blowout victories are just part of the game.
Blowout victories happen every season, but I wonder if a situation will arise whereby there will be so many blowouts in a season or over a while that the mercy rule will be implemented to deal with such a case.
Big wins/losses do so much for individual seasons in soccer. Some huge wins become the starting point for a great run of results, which may even lead to silverware. On the other end of the spectrum, a big loss for a team low on confidence could be the nail in their coffin for the season.
We can’t leave out the possibility of unexpected comebacks either, as teams have come back from massive goal deficits to win games in the past.
Final Thoughts
The Mercy Rule is a good concept, but it works best with younger players still trying to find their feet mentally. It is a good way to show sportsmanship and keep young prospects from giving up on the sport.
