- Lawmakers will not extend blue card processes after opposition to the idea
- Premier League managers spoke out against the idea of sin bins
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Football lawmakers have decided not to extend sin-bin trials beyond the basic game, following last month’s backlash against the possible use of blue cards by referees.
A meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) in Loch Lomond today ended with the sin-bin experiment being halted, but other rule changes including restricting captains to speaking to referees and introducing cooling-off periods in which players are forced to to withdraw to their own penalty area were approved.
The new trials can be used at all levels below the top two tiers in each country, meaning they could be introduced into League One and Two seasons if the EFL so wishes.
FA chief executive and IFAB board member Mark Bullingham insisted they had not succumbed to pressure from Premier League managers such as Jurgen Klopp and Ange Postecoglou, who have been outspoken in their criticism of sin bins.
The tests will continue at the grassroots level, but will only apply to dissent and not to cynical tactical errors, which had already been considered.
Football lawmakers have decided not to expand blue card options beyond the basics
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham insisted they had not succumbed to managerial pressure
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“For some reason the Premier League managers thought the tests would apply to them but that was never the case,” Bullingham said.
‘We have tightened and improved the protocols. From now on, anyone who has committed a sin will receive a yellow card, which will count towards the tally, and the player will remain away until the next stoppage of play after the 10-minute sin bin has expired.
‘These are real refinements. We want to make sure we have the protocol right before we consider rolling it out in other places.”
In other changes, the IFAB confirmed that permanent concussion substitutes can be used in all competitions worldwide from July, while the audio of VAR decisions will be played in stadiums during this summer’s Olympics.
Ange Postecoglou was among the names who expressed concern about the idea of the blue cards