- Trials of the sin bin system for dissent have been successful in the base game
- Rulemakers IFAB is expected to approve an expanded trial at a higher level
- A lap of honor for a victory, apologizing when you lose… When did it come to this? Listen to the It all starts podcast
Next season’s FA Cup could feature player sin bins for dissent or tactical errors.
It would give referees the freedom to send a player off the field for ten minutes, which would put their team at a temporary numerical disadvantage.
Football’s regulators, the International Football Association Board (IFAB), are expected to approve lawsuits against sin bins in professional football at their annual meeting next month.
According to The timesthe Football Association will consider trying them in the FA Cup and Women’s FA Cup next season.
They would act as a disincentive to argue with officials or commit cynical fouls and follow a successful pilot in amateur and youth football in England and Wales.
Players could face sin bins for dissent and tactical errors in next season’s FA Cup, under a new trial set to be given the green light by football lawmakers IFAB
Players who argue with the referees should spend 10 minutes on the sidelines in the sin bin
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IFAB is expected to give the green light to an extended trial at higher levels of the football pyramid and it will be up to the governing bodies to decide which leagues will introduce sin bins.
An example of good use of the sin bin was seen in the then Euro 2020 final, when Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini pulled the shirt of England’s Bukayo Saka and only received a yellow card.
Under the new rules, Chiellini could have been forced to spend ten minutes on the sidelines, leaving Italy with ten men to England’s eleven.
FIFA referee chief Pierluigi Collina supports the idea of sin bins, saying: ‘The idea is to start working on this as soon as possible to give those who would be involved in the trial a protocol that can be used. The idea is to get it quickly.
‘The trial was very successful in basic competitions. Now we are talking about a higher level, most likely professional football or even high professional football.’
Football Association CEO Mark Bullingham confirmed their interest in using sin bins in November.
“When we looked at sin bins – clearly there needs to be a protocol developed – the areas we looked at were dissent, where it worked very, very well in the grassroots game in England,” he said.
Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini withdraws the shirt of England’s Bukayo Saka in the Euro 2020 final, for which he received a yellow card
‘We also discussed other areas, especially tactical errors. I think the frustration among fans watching matches when they see a promising counter-attack ruined and the question of whether a yellow card is enough for that, has led us to look at whether that should also be included in the protocol.
‘The starting point was looking at player behavior and differing opinions. We will then look at whether we should extend this to other areas, such as tactical errors.’