Recent changes made by football's governing bodies to improve player behavior did not include the controversial blue card sin bin system. In February, it was reported that blue cards would be tested as part of sin bin trials at higher levels of the professional game.
Details of the trial were expected to be announced by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) last month. However, details were delayed after Premier League managers such as Liverpool's Juergen Klopp and Tottenham's Ange Postecoglou reacted negatively to the proposal.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Friday that he was "not aware" that blue cards would be used in the trial and that his organization was "totally opposed" to the idea. "If the trials work at the lower levels, then of course the conversation goes up the pyramid," English Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham said after the IFAB's annual general meeting near Loch Lomond in Scotland. "I don't think it was ever intended that the process would start in the Premier League."
In a survey conducted by YouGov, more than 800 people were asked what they thought about blue cards. Overall, more people are in favor (43%) than against (41%).
The rest were neither for nor against (13%) or didn't know (3%). By 50% to 33%, younger football fans (18-34 years old) are more open to the introduction of blue cards, while fans aged 35-54 are less enthusiastic (35% vs. 48%). The over-55s are in line with the average (44% vs. 42%).
This new point would see players sent off for ten minutes for cynical fouls or dissent. Two blue cards, or one blue card and one yellow, would see the player sent off for the rest of the match.
In tournaments where the trial is being implemented, goalkeepers will now have a maximum of eight seconds (currently rule says six) to possess the ball before being penalized. If they exceed this time limit, the opposing team will be awarded either a corner kick or a throw-in from the spot parallel to the penalty area, rather than granting an indirect free kick.
The two additional experiments approved by the IFAB are designed to help referees manage player behavior more effectively. Referees will now be able to set up captains-only areas and cooling-off zones to reduce confrontations on the pitch.
