HITC Football explain what the proposed blue card rule in football is amid IFAB’s plans to trial sin bins. We also look at what the Premier League have said.
We heard in November 2023 that trials introducing sin bins to the professional sphere of football were recommended by the game’s lawmakers IFAB [BBC Sport].
Previously, sin bins have only been tested at grassroots and youth levels but it now seems they will have a place at the elite level in the future.
Reports then surfaced from The Times and the Daily Telegraph at the beginning of February stating the International Football Association Board (IFAB) are set to announce sin bin trials to the beautiful game, as well as an unprecedented blue card.
The proposals need to be rubber stamped at IFAB’s annual general meeting in March – which is set to take place in Loch Lomond, Scotland – but reports say they have already been ‘signed off’.
So what exactly is the blue card, how will they work with the sin bin plans and what have the Premier League, UEFA, FIFA and the FA all said?
What is the blue card?
The blue card is to be introduced by IFAB as part of their sin bin trials. It will be the first new card introduced to football since yellow and red cards were first seen at the World Cup in 1970.
Blue cards will work differently to yellow and red cards. At the moment, as we know, yellow cards are used for things like cynical fouls and dissent. But the two aforementioned actions could be punishable by the blue card in the future.
What will the blue card be used for?
The blue card will be used for, as mentioned, cynical fouls and dissent as part of IFAB’s sin bin trials. The Football Association have been trialling sin bins for dissent at grassroots level since 2018/19 but IFAB now want to see both offences punishable by sin bins.
A blue card would be shown to a player if he or she commits a cynical foul or dissent and would be sent to the sin bin. The player would then spend 10 minutes there before being reintroduced to the field of play. This is similar to what we see in rugby union at the moment.
When and where will blue cards be introduced?
At time of writing, IFAB have not made it clear when we will see the roll-out of blue cards as part of their sin bin trials. As said, sin bins for dissent only have been tested at grassroots level thus far.
We do know that elite level trials will not be carried out initially but that could arrive as early as the summer of 2024 in competitions such as the FA Cup and Women’s FA Cup.
That’s because the Football Association are reportedly considering volunteering those two competitions for testing.
The Telegraph have stated that testing will not be used during the summer’s European Championships or the revamped 2024/25 Champions League season.
Premier League stance on sin bin trials
At the moment, elite level competitions will not be used for testing sin bins or blue cards in the immediate future so that includes the Premier League.
In fact, BBC Sport claim the Premier League have actually ruled themselves out of being a part of any initial testing.
But it seems the plan by IFAB is to see the proposals transition into the professional game and make its way up to the top-tier leagues eventually.
Outwith the Premier League, European governing body UEFA’s president Aleksander Ceferin is completely opposed to sin bins or blue cards in football.
FIFA statement on sin bins
FIFA released a short statement on the recent reportage surrounding blue cards and stressed, as expected, that only lower level competitions will be used for any initial testing.
They wrote on X: “FIFA wishes to clarify that reports of the so-called ‘blue card’ at elite levels of football are incorrect and premature. Any such trials, if implemented, should be limited to testing in a responsible manner at lower levels, a position that FIFA intends to reiterate when this agenda item is discussed at the IFAB AGM on 2 March.
“Any such trials, if implemented, should be limited to testing in a responsible manner at lower levels, a position that Fifa intends to reiterate when this agenda item is discussed at the IFAB AGM on 1 March.”
What has the FA said on sin bins?
As said, the FA have been testing sin bins for dissent at grassroots level for more than five years now. Their data tells us that fouls for dissent have decreased by 38% across 31 different leagues since 2018/19 [BBC Sport].
The sin bin rule is currently implemented up to tier nine on the English football pyramid, or step 5 of the National League set-up.
This is what FA chief executive Mark Bullingham has had to say on the sufficiency of yellow cards for cynical fouling: “I think (there is) frustration for fans watching games when they see a promising counter-attack that’s ruined by that (a tactical foul).
“The question of whether a yellow card is sufficient for that has led to us looking at whether that should be involved in the protocol as well.
“The starting point was looking at player behaviour and dissent – we’re then looking at whether we should extend it into other areas, such as tactical fouls, as well.”
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