Published on 09.02.2024
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) will be introducing sin-binning players and implementing blue cards, according to an announcement set to be made on Friday.
Sin-bins have already been used in grassroots football for instances of dissent, but now they may also be utilized for cynical fouls as part of a trial phase.
Blue cards and sin-bins will be trialed in football, per @TeleFootball
— B/R Football (@brfootball) February 8, 2024
Players will be removed from the pitch for 10 minutes for cynical fouls and dissent. pic.twitter.com/FeIP3c20fh
Under this new system, a player who receives a blue card from the referee will have to spend 10 minutes in the technical area.
The exact start date and which competitions will participate in this trial are yet to be determined.
Although there is interest in implementing these changes at higher levels of football, the Premier League has stated that it will not initially take part. Additionally, FIFA, the governing body of international football, has denied reports suggesting that elite-level games would feature the use of “blue cards”, stating that such trials should first be tested responsibly at lower levels before considering implementation at higher tiers. FIFA plans on reiterating this position during discussions about sin-bin trials scheduled for their annual general meeting on March 1st.
Topics related to sin-bin trials at higher levels of play are listed on Ifab’s agenda for their upcoming annual meeting taking place at Loch Lomond in Scotland next month.
In 2018-19, the Football Association conducted a trial of sin-bins and observed a significant decrease (38%) in dissent across 31 leagues. As a result, sin-bins were implemented at all levels of grassroots football starting from the 2019-20 season. The objective was to enhance respect and fair play within the sport.
