U.S. Soccer to ban heading the ball during games for all players under 13

In an effort to curb the increase of concussions in youth soccer, the United States Soccer Federation unveiled a series of safety initiatives Monday aimed at addressing head injuries in the sport — including a policy that sets strict limits on youth players heading the ball.

The new guidelines, which resolve a proposed class-action lawsuit filed against U.S. Soccer and others last year, will prohibit players age 10 and younger from heading the ball and will reduce its use in practice for those from age 11 to 13.

Youngsters will now be prohibited from using their heads to block crosses or even score the occasional goal — key components of soccer.

According to officials, heading the ball should not be allowed for any U.S. player aged under ten, and should be limited to practice sessions only for those aged 11 to 13 due to the concussion fears.

At the moment, the rules will only be mandatory for U.S. Soccer's Youth National Teams and its Development Academy, including MLS youth teams.

While those players only make up a fraction of the total number of people playing the sport, they are perhaps the most important in terms of furthering the game on a national and international level.

U.S. Soccer admits that it doesn't have the authority to force all clubs to play by the rules, though authorities say they will be putting pressure on everyone to follow their advice.

"Although they are only recommendations, they are based on the advice of the U.S. Soccer medical committee, and therefore U.S. Soccer strongly urges that they be followed," said a spokesperson.

The ruling comes after a class action lawsuit filed in California last year, bringing claims against U.S. Soccer and its associated bodies, as well as FIFA, the international governing body.

While a judge ruled that a claim in the U.S. had no authority over FIFA, the case against U.S. Soccer, as well as U.S. Youth Soccer, the American Youth Soccer Organization, U.S. Club Soccer and the California Youth Soccer Association, was allowed to proceed.

The claimants sought no financial payments, simply rule changes that brought a greater focus to the issue of head injuries within the game.

That case was settled on Monday, the same day U.S. Soccer announced these new initiatives. 

What is not clear, however, is exactly how these rules will be enforced and what punishment a player on the field can expect if they decide to head the ball during a game.

There is also concern that leaving out such a major facet of the game, especially for players in national development academies, will hurt U.S. Soccer's international reputation and advancement.

Among other rule changes are allowances for a player to be substituted for a concussion check without that change counted against a team's total.

Currently, at senior level, teams are allowed a total of three substitutions per game, including those made for injuries.

Costa Rica protests soccer loss to U.S. in heavy snow

The Costa Rica soccer team seemed to be having a lot of fun playing in the snowy conditions during Friday night's World Cup qualifying match against the United States even when inches of the white stuff covered the pitch at  Dicks Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo.

Although the U.S. lead 1-0, players from both sides — who looked more like characters in a snow globe — seemed to be pleading with the referee to let the match go on.

That was until the final horn and Costa Rica realized they lost. Suddenly the Rockie Mountain high disappeared.

Costa Rica manager Jorge Luis  Pinto vented his anger about the perceived snow job after the 1-0 loss.

"It was an embarrassment to football, disrespectful to the game," an animated Pinto told reporters.

Pinto said the "legal conditions" for playing the game were not in place and a Federation official told Costa Rican media that an official protest would be made to FIFA on Saturday.

Regardless of the weather, postponing the game would've caused considerable problems for both teams. They would've had to complete it within 48 hours and both sides have to travel for their next matches on Tuesday.

U.S. and Costa Rica push groundskeeper out of way 

According to Reuters, US federation president Sunil Gulati claimed that playing the match in Colorado this time of year had nothing to do with trapping their opponents arctic conditions and instead was designed as high-altitude training for the US's trip to Mexico City next week.

It seems like there's a snow ball's chance on a Costa Rican beach that any action will result from the team's protest, but -- from their perspective they've already lost so why not try.