Blue cards set to be introduced in football as part of revolutionary sin-bin trials tacking cynical fouls and dissent
8 February 2024, 17:49 | Updated: 8 February 2024, 17:51
Blue cards are set to be introduced in football as part of sin-bin trials clamping down on cynical fouls and dissent.
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The rule change would see the first new card used in professional football since yellow and red cards were introduced at the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico.
The International Football Association Board (Ifab) is set to announce the revolutionary rule changes on Friday, reported first by The Telegraph.
Players who are deemed by referees to commit cynical fouls preventing promising attacks from playing out or showing dissent towards officials will be removed from the field for 10 minutes if they are shown a blue card.
A player will then be shown a red card if they are issued two blue cards in the match, or a yellow and blue card.
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The trial will not involve the professional game at this point, while issues with the protocol are ironed out. The paper reported trials in the professional game could be underway by the summer, however.
Prospective opportunities for a professional blue card trial could include the men's and women's FA Cup.
Not all in football have agreed with the prospective new rules. The president of UEFA, Aleksander Ceferin, previously said be was opposed to the sin-bin card.
The blue card was initially set to be trialed by the Football Association of Wales this season who intended to roll out the new rule in grassroots competitions, the paper reported.
The football association was unable to get clearance to implement the rule change, however, and amateur players have been shown a yellow card for the sin-bin instead.
Blue has been preferred to orange to better differentiate from yellow and red cards.
