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According to a report from the Telegraph today, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) has signed off on the use of a blue card a new card for the first time since yellow and red cards, which were brought in back in 1970. A blue card will see a player leaving the pitch for ten minutes before getting a chance to return to the game, and it will be reserved for certain offences.
The report states that blue cards will only be used for dissent or cynical fouls that stop a promising attack, but without necessarily being that dangerous. A combination of two blue cards, or a blue and a yellow card in one game will lead to a red card, just as two yellows already lead to a red under current rules.
Top-tier competitions will be excluded from initial testing in the professional game in case the protocols require further refinement, but elite trials will begin soon in the summer season. The Football Association of Wales had planned to use a blue card during a sin-bin trial in grassroots competitions this season.
The revolutionary move will be announced by Ifab (International Football Association Board) as part of sin-bin protocols on Friday. Sin-bins have worked successfully at tackling dissent for many years at grassroots and youth levels and the new trials will also see them used to punish tactical fouling.
