FIFA rejects blue card trial in elite football
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MBABANE – Despite earlier reports suggesting a trial would be announced this week, FIFA has denied that blue cards will be introduced to major competitions next season.
The publication reported late last year that Sin-bins were set to be introduced to football after the sport’s lawmakers approved the decision to trial what could prove to be a revolutionary move. The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is said to have agreed to trial the rugby-style approach in elite-level competitions. This trial could take place as soon as next season. A report from the Telegraph claimed that the IFAB was making plans to announce that blue cards be introduced to the game as soon as next season. While the report says they will not be used in toptier competitions, they could be given a run out in the likes of the FA Cup and League Cup should the Football Association (FA) volunteer the tournaments as part of the trial.
However, the latest report coming from FIFA is that they have denied that blue cards will not be used in top competitions, saying in a statement later on Thursday: “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 March 2.”
The trial will allow referees to show blue cards for dissent and fouls intended to stop promising attacks and will see a player banished from the field for 10 minutes. Blue cards have already been introduced at grassroots level in some areas and appear set to come into the professional game soon as part of a wider ‘sin-bin’ regulation.
FIFA will discuss the introduction of a blue card trial at the annual general meeting next month. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has already spoken against the idea, claiming that it was not football anymore.
Eswatini Football Association (EFA) Marketing and Communications Officer Muzi Radebe said his office was yet to get an official correspondence from the international football office on the proposed changes.
(Additional information from goal.com)