To proactively refine regulations and prevent "unsportsmanlike conduct," South American football sets an exemplary precedent.

Written by Han Bing. On April 17, the National Referee Committee under the Argentine Football Association issued a statement: from now on, the act of a player stepping on the ball with both feet will be considered as provoking opponents. Referees should issue a yellow card to the offender and award an indirect free kick to the opponent at the foul location. The Argentine Football Association views this gesture as provocative behavior, "disrupting the match environment" and often leading to conflicts, negatively impacting the image of Argentine football. Besides violating sportsmanship, this action also poses injury risks to players who step on the ball with both feet.

It is worth noting that CONMEBOL and the Brazilian Football Association had previously established penalty clauses targeting the act of stepping on the ball with both feet. Their efforts in refining and promptly supplementing FIFA regulations, at least in defining provocative behavior, demonstrate that South American football administrators have undertaken correct and proactive work.

The catalyst for the Argentine Football Association defining stepping on the ball with both feet as provocative behavior was the match between Estudiantes de La Plata and Unión de Santa Fe on April 11 in the Argentine Primera División. When Unión's Palacios performed the double-footed ball step against opponent player Mancuso, Mancuso immediately demanded the referee penalize Palacios. However, at that time, Argentine football rules lacked specific provisions for such conduct. Palacios' action led to a large-scale confrontation between the two teams before the match ended.

The Argentine Football Association acted swiftly, defining stepping on the ball with both feet as provocation against opponents, unifying the criteria for identification, and imposing corresponding penalties. Mancuso instinctively signaled for the referee to penalize because last year, while playing for Fortaleza in the Brazilian league, he encountered a similar situation. The Brazilian league had already prohibited players from performing the double-footed ball step starting April 6, 2025. The penalty for players, identical to the Argentine Football Association's new rule one year later, is a yellow card warning and an indirect free kick awarded to the opponent at the foul location.

The new rule introduced in Brazil is also referred to as the "Memphis Rule," stemming from the second leg of the São Paulo State Championship final on March 28, 2025, when Corinthians forward Memphis Depay stepped on the ball with both feet, provoking Palmeiras players and triggering a clash between both sides. On April 4, the Brazilian Football Association Arbitration Committee issued Announcement No. 964 of 2025, prohibiting players from performing the double-footed ball step. The Brazilian Football Association stated the new rule followed directives from CONMEBOL a week earlier, aiming to reduce provocative behaviors that escalate conflicts. During the CONMEBOL U17 Championship on March 30, both Brazil and Bolivia had one player each receive a yellow card for the double-footed ball step.

The Brazilian Football Association's new rule faced protests from Memphis himself and some stars led by Neymar and Denílson, who argued that the rule stifles the "joyful football" style of Brazilian football and that FIFA regulations do not explicitly define stepping on the ball with both feet as provocative. However, CONMEBOL, the Brazilian Football Association, and the Argentine Football Association disagree. They promptly used supplementary细则 to define this provocative act, preventing players from angering opponents and sparking conflicts due to this gesture.

In the South American football scene, which崇尚华丽炫技, the difficulty of introducing a prohibition on the double-footed ball step is可想而知. Nevertheless, South American football administrators chose to swiftly enact new rule clauses, promoting sportsmanship over炫技 filled with offensive implications.

Chinese fans are not unfamiliar with the provocative act of stepping on the ball with both feet: Brazilian外援 Saldanha, who joined Chengdu Rongcheng in summer 2022, performed the double-footed ball step挑衅 in his debut against Changchun Yatai on September 1 that year,仅仅 36 minutes into the match. He was subsequently连续逼抢放倒在地 by Serginho and Yan Zhiyu, with Yan Zhiyu also pushing Saldanha from behind in protest. Chengdu's Romulo pushed Saldanha away and raised his hand示意致歉. Despite this, players from both sides nearly clashed before halftime. Former Yatai player Du Zhenyu当时发文谴责: "Everyone must absolutely不允许任何人侮辱球队和俱乐部的行为. Of course, most优秀球员不会这么选择."

However, Saldanha did not收敛. On December 31, 2022, in Chengdu Rongcheng's home match against Dalian Pro, he再次 performed the double-footed ball step in the second half,同样遭遇 Dalian's Shang Yin and Zhu Ting连续大动作防守, with Zhu Ting also receiving a red card for蹬踏. One minute after Zhu Ting was sent off, Saldanha was substituted to prevent更大的冲突.赛后 Zhu Ting同样 expressed protest: "You should be an object of学习和效仿, not the one哗众取宠博人眼球. You should become a榜样 for fans like梅西, not羞辱对手 and羞辱其他城市 in the CSL." The match referee issued a口头警告 to Saldanha after his ball-stepping action.

The controversy over Saldanha's ball-stepping has passed for over three years. To this day, Chinese football has not made更多值得肯定的进步 in defining provocative behavior. Compared to the挑衅举动 of ball-stepping, the discussion on sportsmanship triggered by "leg shaking" substitutions is更值得中国足球思考. How, within the framework of existing FIFA rules, to effectively refine and supplement regulations according to the实际情况 of Chinese football,杜绝利用规则缺失或模糊地带做出违反体育道德行为, should become the future direction for Chinese football's efforts.