FOOTIE chiefs are set to introduce a major disciplinary change with the addition of BLUE CARDS.
And SIN-BIN trials are set to be rolled out in a series of shock trials set to be announced on Friday.
That’s thanks to the International Football Association Board, who have agreed to the introduction of the new card.
If implemented at the top level, the introduction of blue cards will be the first major disciplinary change since the introduction of yellow and red cards back in 1970.
Players will face TEN-MINUTE stints in the sin bin if they are guilty of committing a cynical foul or if they show dissent towards the referee, linesman or fourth official.
So the days of players stopping promising attacks or counters with shirt pulls or other deliberate fouls could soon come to an end.
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Blues cards have already successfully been trialled at the grassroots level in Wales, with their introduction resulting in a reduction of tactical fouls and dissent.
The colour was reportedly chosen over orange over fears there could be confusion between yellow and red cards.
IFAB will announce the revolutionary rule change on Friday, although it won’t be implemented at the top level straight away.
Elite competitions will be “excluded” from the initial testing phase due to the possibility of teething problems.
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Blue Murder
By Martin Lipton
IT’S a sin for football to allow cynical cheats to get away with it.
So introducing ten-minute sin-bins would be a big step forward for the game.
In truth, it does not matter what card the referee shows – blue, green or pink.
What matters is that, if the trial – which will not include the Prem or EFL at this stage – is a success, then it could become part of top tier professional football by the end of the decade.
The argument is simple: Nobody likes what Fifa refs’ chief Pierluigi Collina describes as “anti-football action”.
That is a deliberate, cynical act to stop a potential break by fouling a rival with absolutely no attempt to play the ball.
If teams who do that have to spend the last 10 minutes of a game a man short, they could pay a real price, rather than just picking up a yellow card and “taking one for the team”.
Sin bins for dissent might be a tougher argument to progress, although it might just give refs some respect back.
But having players sat by the side of the pitch, powerless as their man-short side concedes a last-gasp winner, might actually change the way players behave. And it will be a statement of intent.
Trials at the top level, however, could get underway this summer.
SunSport understands it could be incorporated into FA competitions including the Trophy and Vase, but will NOT be introduced into the FA Cup.
Neither Euro 2024 nor next season’s Champions League will include sin bins after protestations from Uefa chief, Aleksander Ceferin.
When pressed for his thoughts on blue cards and sin bins, he told The Telegraph last month: “It’s not football anymore.”
Uefa, however, could be forced to implement the disciplinary protocol if the trials are successful.
The approval of the blue card and sin bin trials is the second Rugby Union measure to have been approved by IFAB.
Back in February, they approved plans to only allow captains to speak to officials and question their decisions.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
