For me, there are professional/cynical fouls every game to stop counter attacks that aren't given as yellows, for reasons I can't understand.
The rules and the cards aren't the problem, the interpretation and implementation by the middle aged fella jogging up and down in the middle is.
Referees don't seem to be good enough, many players are cheating shīthousės, linesmen/assistant referees seem to do next to nothing to help the referee either.
Firstly I'd like younger, fitter referees. Who are more part of the match day. Interviewed or statement pre-game, interviewed and decisions gone over post game.
I'd like to see a player of code of conduct brought in, for the top leagues, with a video training package at the start of the season with clear examples from previous seasons that the players agree to adhere to. Defenders being touched in the back and going down, dissent, preventing teams taking free kicks, all the little niggling dark arts being used every week, faux injuries etc. to be either ignored in play, or dealt with by booking players.
Then for the first couple of months each game will be refereed to this new standard, even if there are a few red cards in the first half of a lot of games, then the big change. The game is watched and reviewed afterwards and anything missed or deemed unacceptable is reviewed and further punishments issued within 48 hours of the game. If the referee is found to have missed too much he is suspended for a couple of games before being allowed to referee again and improve his standards/performance.
The players and referees seems to live in a land of next to no consequences for cheating, bad behaviour and in the referees case bad performances.
Hopefully after a month or two the standards will improve.
I'd also add a big part of the game management, dissent, breaking up play, injury faking etc is very much 'time' based.
I think it is 'time' the timekeeping was totally removed from the refs. The match can be two 30 minutes halves or whatever the current average is for however long the ball is in play, controlled from the side lines. Currently, any stops in play, subs, goalkeepers hanging on to the ball too long, faking injury, rolling back on to the pitch for treatment etc. is done to eat up match time to the detriment of your opposition. If the match clock isn't running you would hope this would stamp this out. Oh and 'injured' players can be treated in game as the game goes on, but they remain active for offside. The players bench can then decide if it is serious enough to sub in him. Any medical/injuries that come about at a stop in play already (like a corner or set piece etc.) the clock would be stopped anyway, if the medical staff deem the players injury serious in play, they can buzz the ref and stop the game, but that player must then be subbed off.
Some of this waffle if it was ever implemneted will probably lead to other play acting, or dark arts type stuff as the blood subs did in rugby. But I feel there needs to be a big change in players behaviour and game time management. It's getting to the point where changes need to be made more around this, than who has their ribcage/knee 5mm ahead of the defender on a counter attack and all the other VAR nonsense that seems to be making the game worse as a spectacle.