- The blue card will be introduced in football.
- It will send out the players for 10 minutes.
- The new move has been opposed by UEFA.
The Telegraph reported on Thursday that football is about to see the introduction of a blue card, marking the first time a new color has been widely used in over half a century.
The report indicates that the International Football Association Board will announce this innovative initiative on Friday. This new measure will result in players being taken out of play for 10 minutes if they commit a cynical foul or show dissent towards a match official.
The new protocols will add a new dimension to dismissals, with players now facing ejection if they receive two blue cards in a game or a combination of a blue and a yellow.
The report further mentions that trials at an elite level could start as early as the summer, although top-tier competitions will be excluded from initial testing.
As a result, FA Cup and Women’s FA Cup matches might be included in the trials, with the FA reportedly contemplating offering next season’s competitions for testing.
This season, blue cards have been used during a sin-bin trial in grassroots football in Wales. The color was chosen to clearly differentiate it from a yellow or red card.
New cards have already been introduced on a smaller scale in Europe, with Portugal recently implementing a new measure to recognize good sportsmanship.
FIFA referees’ chief Pierluigi Collina supported the idea of sin bins, stating: “The idea is to start working on this as soon as possible to provide those who would be involved in the trial a protocol to be used. The idea is to get it soon.
“The trial was very successful in grassroots competitions. Now we are talking of a higher level, very probably professional or even high professional football.’
In November, Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham confirmed their interest in using sin bins.
“When we were looking at sin bins – protocol clearly has to be developed – the areas we were looking at were dissent, where it’s worked very, very well in the grassroots game in England,” he said.
However, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin voiced his opposition to the move, stating that sin-bins will not be used at this summer’s European Championship or next season’s Champions League.
