Should football introduce blue cards and sin-bins? Our writers debate
Professional football could be set for one of its biggest rule changes in a generation with the introduction of sin-bins and blue cards. Football’s lawmakers, the International Football Association Board (IFAB), are determined to crack down on dissent towards referees by giving officials the power to send players to the technical area for 10 minutes - following similar protocols that are used in rugby union and other sports.
It comes after an initial trial phase at the grassroots levels in England, where sin-bins have been used up to step five of the National League system since 2019, in a general effort to improve participant behaviour in the game. The introduction of blue cards would target two areas: dissent towards officials and tactical fouls, such as when a defending
