What are the Stupidest Laws in Sport?
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There are some pretty complex, or even "bad" rules in sport. I don't mean punishment for 'roiders, actual problems with rules that effect the game you play. The worst rules are those that you need to read multiple times to have any idea what it's on about. And then think of the poor buggers officiating that need to enforce these rules. I offer a few for you now.
Offside
The "Soccer" version of this is pretty complex. Rather than type it all out, rest assured, it goes on for some time. The explanation can be found here on pages 34 and 35. See if you understand that, if you don't normally watch the game. Basically, it means there must be two opposition players between you and the opponents goal when the ball is passed to you (usually 1 + goalie). But then you get permetations about hitting opposition players, what part of the body is the crucial one, it doesn't matter if you pass backwards etc.
Is this offside? See if you can tell first time, no slow mo replay, or second glances, make a decision first time.
LBW
Lbw (Leg Before Wicket) is the most awkward rule in cricket. Like Offside, it has changed over the years for various reasons. Here is the law on the Lord's website. Basically, if the ball hits you on the legs in front of the stumps, you're out. But then there are rules about whether you hit it, where the ball bounced, where the ball hit you etc. Then take into account the indefinite nature of it. The umpire is being asked to predict whether he thinks the ball will go on to hit the stumps, as well as take everything else into consideration. Nobody can ever be certain.
Is this lbw? Try and judge in real time.
Golf
Just golf generally. Such a simple game, hit a ball into a hole in the ground in as few shots as possible. But the rules are 169 pages long! Stuff about water hazards, unplayable lies, removable obstructions, sprinklers in the way... The list goes on. Then throw into the mix that the 4 Major Championships, the PGA Tour and the European Tour all use different rules! How does anyone know what's going on?
Here is an example that perfectly illustrates what I'm on about.
Scrum rules
In rugby, there is such a thing called a scrum. 8 players clash head on, and push, basically. But the referee has to make judgements about whether the front rows are pushing upwards (not head on), pushing downwards, boring in (pushing across), pushing too early, dragging the scrum down, pushing the scrum up, whether the players are binding correctly, whether flankers leave it before the ball is out etc. The referee can only ever see one side of the scrum, so at best he has to make a complete guess. The forces going on are too complex to understand, what's the difference between one player pulling it down and the other player pushing it down? It's too hard to see.
Those are the UK sports with dodgy rules, I leave you to come up with some others. Which do you think is/are the worst? Also, comment your score in the test questions for lbws and offside, just for fun. No cheating!
