Sin-bins and blue cards in football: Here are the details
Football is all set to undergo some changes in the next few months with the International Football Association Board approving the introduction of a 'Blue Card'. It is not decided when the trial will start and which competitions it will involve.. The introduction of a new card in football will happen for the first time in over 50 years since the 1970 World Cup.
Why does this story matter?
The introduction of the blue card is football taking inspiration from hockey and rugby. The referee will brandish blue cards during cynical fouls to stop a promising attack or when a player shows unbridled dissent. If a blue card is shown, the player will leave the field for 10 minutes before returning to the game. They will spend this time in the sin bins.
What are blue cards?
Sin-bins will be used for two specific offences - dissent and tactical fouls. Notably, players will be ordered to go to the technical area for 10 minutes. If someone has already been booked, a blue card will mean they are sent off. A blue card falls between receiving a yellow and a red card. As mentioned, a player is sent off for 10 minutes.
Two blue cards in a match results in sending off
The new rule approved by the IFAB also suggests that if a player has received two blue cards in a single game then he will get a red card and will not be able to take any further part in the game.
Sin-bins were introduced in England's grassroots level in 2018
Sin-bins is a term used widely in ice hockey and rugby as it denotes a place where the players sit to serve the time of a given penalty for an offence not severe enough to receive an outright expulsion from the match. Sin bins were introduced in the 2018-19 season in England. It helped in reducing dissent across the 31 leagues by FA.
Sin-bins proposal was announced at an IFAB meeting
Sin-bins proposal was announced at an IFAB meeting in London in November. It will be subject to approval at its annual general meeting on March 2024. Sin-bin trials at higher levels of the game will be a topic for discussion in the agenda. Ifab secretary Lukas Brud told BBC that one of the next steps was to identify the appropriate competition for the trials.
What are the Premier League and FIFA thinking?
The Premier League has already ruled out being part of this trial. Meanwhile, football's world governing body FIFA said "reports of the so-called 'blue card' at elite levels of football are incorrect and premature." FIFA said any such trials, if implemented, should be limited to testing in a responsible manner at lower levels. It added it's a position that FIFA intends to reiterate.
