France managed to win in Belgium, thanks to a goal in the last minutes from Oliseh, remaining with full points in Group 1 of League A of the Nations League. Thus, van Bommel's "Devils" were tied in the standings with Italy, which at the same time won in Turkey. A match in which Kevin de Bruyne failed to influence as he would have liked and during the first half he also became the protagonist of a fierce debate with the Slovenian referee Obrenovic, who kept him off the field for a minute, after the intervention of the medical staff. The referee was perfectly implementing the new rule in force since this summer, which infuriated the Belgian midfielder.
What happened in Belgium-France, De Bruyne's insult to the referee: "Get the f*ck out..."
It all happened in the 37th minute, while both teams were still tied at 0-0: Lacroix made a harsh tackle in midfield on De Bruyne, who fell to the ground. Obrenovic correctly awarded a foul for Belgium, but the medical staff had to intervene to check the condition of the Napoli player, who only got up with difficulty a few moments later. At that moment, the referee invited him to leave the field, causing De Bruyne to react, especially with his words: he gets away with a serious offense, irritated by the decision, which, however, was in accordance with the new rules. He also risked a disciplinary measure, but the referee decided to ignore it.
What the new IFAB regulation says: 1-minute "sentence"
The new provision, effective from 1 July this year, is Law 5, which relates to the chapter on “The Referee”, in the updated protocol approved by the IFAB. It explicitly lists the reasons for which a player is obliged to leave the field of play “for one minute”:
the game has been stopped because the player has a real or suspected injury;
the referee has signaled the medical staff to enter the field of play;
The referee asked the player if he needed medical treatment on the field and the player confirmed that he did.
The De Bruyne “case” therefore fully complies with the third event defined by the IFAB, the text of which goes on to confirm the referee’s correct interpretation: “After any initial assessment, the player must leave the field of play and remain off it until play has restarted and one minute has elapsed, determined by the referee, who may be assisted by other match officials.”
Major rule changes now in effect after the World Cup
The one applied to De Bruyne in Belgium-France is just one of many new “structural” rules requested and approved by the IFAB and that have already come into force. Among the most important is the “Substitution Time Limit Protocol”, with the obligation to leave the field within 10 seconds, otherwise the team risks playing temporarily with a numerical inferiority. There is also a 5-second countdown for throw-ins and goalkeeper kicks, after the end of which the referee can decide to give possession to the opponents, in addition to the already controversial “mouth covering” rule, that is, the prohibition of covering the mouth with the hands during a confrontation with the opponent, which leads to an immediate expulsion.
