Does soccer in other countries have less rules than in the U.S.?

A while ago I was watching a soccer match being played in some other country like Brazil or Argentina.After a play was called,a player stuck both of his fingers in the eyes of a player from the opposing team as he happened to walk by him!Although the incident was shown on instant replay no action was taken by the refs!Do they allow this sort of thing in sports in other countries?
Answers

Anonymous

FIFA sets the rules basically for all Confederations and continents.

charleygirl

football does not have rules, it has the laws of the game. and these laws are governed by FIFA individual laws such as extra time and substitutions are set by the competition organizers

DEBS

The laws of the game are the same. Things such as video review are allowed under FIFA guidelines, but they are not required. It is only a couple years since it was allowed and not all leagues have implemented it. If the referee didn't see the incident on the field, then it's highly possible it wasn't punished because that league didn't have video review. That doesn't mean the player can't be suspended after the league reviews the video after the game. It just means there is no in-game action against him.

SFC MARTIN

Eye poker would had been sent off in England

Mark

I don't think so.

Pearl

it probably depends on where they are