Ben Volin covers the NFL for the Boston Globe, is one of 50 AP voters for NFL MVP, and had never covered a World Cup before he chose to step outside his usual NFL beat to serve as the chief soccer correspondent, covering all seven matches played at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. That outside perspective is exactly what made his tweet on Tuesday night, posted while Spain’s 2-0 semifinal win over France was still the night’s biggest story, ring alarm bells the way it did. 

“American fans regularly complain about the rules in their sports. And the leagues annually review them and look for improvements. I can’t imagine not adapting any rules over 100 years,” Ben Volin wrote after Mikel Oyarzabal converted a first-half penalty to put Spain ahead.

On Marc Cucurella’s cross into the box, Digne attempted to head the ball to himself for a clearance, lost sight of Yamal, and when he pivoted to strike it, caught the 19-year-old across the left thigh. Referee Iván Barton pointed to the spot immediately. By the letter of the law, the call was technically correct. But Volin’s frustration was about the stringent nature of the sport. The penalty kick was introduced in 1891, 135 years ago, and the basic concept of the penalty kick has remained largely unchanged.  

In fact, earlier, Volin wrote a full piece for the Boston Globe laying out exactly this kind of comparison, then triggered by Belgium being awarded a penalty against Senegal in the 125th minute, after a lengthy VAR review, to win the match. He called it the equivalent of an NFL referee reviewing a play in overtime and spotting the ball on the 1-yard line.

He’d also been calling out FIFA’s media access model throughout the tournament, with no official stat announcements in the press box, no immediate shot counts or possession breakdowns – details the NFL has had standardized for years. 

To be fair, though, Spain didn’t win this game simply because of a penalty. Rodri and Dani Olmo owned the midfield from the opening minute. France’s attack, which had scored 16 goals in their previous six matches, barely got a touch. Then, Pedro Porro scored a second goal that made it 2-0.

France managed just one shot on goal in 90-plus minutes today. And Referee Barton actually called more fouls against Spain than France across the match. Still, Volin’s argument about the rule itself is fair, and he’s been making it consistently, not just when it suits a result.