This is going to be a problem, I think.
The Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved a new football rule that requires players who target and contact defenseless players above the shoulders to be ejected, effective for the 2013 season. The change increases the on-field penalty for targeting by adding the automatic ejection to the existing 15-yard penalty.
The new rule in football means that discipline for those players flagged for violations will mirror the penalty for fighting. If the foul occurs in the first half of a game, the player is ejected for the remainder of the game. If the foul occurs in the second half or overtime of a game, the player is ejected for the remainder of the game and the first half of the next contest.
In an effort to address concerns when one of these plays is erroneously called on the field, the ejection portion of the penalty will be reviewable through video replay. The replay official must have conclusive evidence that a player should not be ejected to overturn the call on the field.
There were also other changes:
- the blocking below the waist rule has been simplified
-
jersey and pant colors must be different from the field of play[EDIT: my mistake] - a 10-second runoff for injuries with less than a minute in the half
- 3 seconds is the minimum amount of time required to spike the ball
- number changes must be reported to the referee