‘Bizarre idea will destroy the game’
Ange leads the revolt against blue cards
PREMIER LEAGUE managers hit out against the proposed introduction of blue cards and sin-bins, which will be trialled in football from next season.
The new rules, which would see players sent to a sin-bin for 10 minutes for committing a cynical foul or showing dissent to officials, have not gone down well with topflight bosses.
Tottenham coach Ange Postecoglou warned they would ‘destroy’ football and Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp claiming it will overcomplicate the game.
Here, Premier League coaches explain why the are so opposed to the idea...
ANGE POSTECOGLOU TOTTENHAM
ONE team being down to 10 men for 10 minutes, you know what it’s going to do to our game? It’s going to destroy it, mate. You’re going to have one team just sitting there trying to waste time for 10 minutes waiting for a guy to come on.
Every other sport is trying to declutter. All we’re trying to do is go the other way for some bizarre reason.
I struggle to understand why this urgency all of a sudden to bring in new things. I don’t know if there’s that much wrong with the game as
I see it. My biggest issue with the game right now is that VAR has changed the experience, whether you’re a player, a manager or a supporter or whatever you are I think it’s changed the experience of football.
I assume that’s a means to an end, that the introduction of technology is going to get us to a better place. I remain to be convinced about that. Beyond that, I don’t know why a different colour card is going to make any difference.
I struggle with this whole taking from other sports. What I do know about other sports is that most of them are trying to introduce rules to speed up and unclutter their game. We’re going the other way and I don’t know why.
That’s always been the difference with football compared to other sports. Football always has a life of its own, and within that there are mistakes, there are flaws and imperfections. Other sports tend to be able to stop and start without affecting it.
Even in that, most sports I look at are trying to speed up their game and make it a better spectacle. I don’t know why we’re trying to go the other way. I guarantee though that I won’t be in the room when they’re making those decisions.
EDDIE HOWE NEWCASTLE
I’M not a big fan, to be honest. I think that’s what yellow cards are for. I think the current system works well, it’s just got to be applied right. I think adding a blue card would just add more confusion, in my opinion, so I’m against it.
I think sin-bins would change the game a lot. But not in a good way, because I think it will make it very bitty, more stop-start. I fear for the players who would have to go off for 10 minutes and then re-find the rhythm of a Premier League game after 10 minutes out. I’m just not sure it works, personally.
MAURICIO POCHETTINO CHELSEA
WE are going to think about a different game. I am a romantic. I love football and am very romantic. I love the football from the past.
Of course the technology is helping the decisions for the referees for the game. But there are too many things and the interpretation is going to be difficult all in the same time.
We are already talking a lot about VAR and with the blue cards, or whether a yellow card or red card, it is still too much.
When I heard the news, I wondered how we will apply it? It will be difficult to put everything in the same place and be consistent with the decisions.
The people are trying to create. It is difficult to express my opinion. These people are working to try to change football or to add some rules that I don’t know if it will benefit the game.
MIKEL ARTETA ARSENAL
I DON’T know if we are ready for that yet. Hopefully it’s going to be tested very well before they introduce it at this level. I think everything has been done with the intention to simplify football, to try to improve decisions that are hard to make in a split-second. Hopefully everything is done to improve the game and if that’s the case, then let’s try it.
JURGEN KLOPP LIVERPOOL
WE should keep it as simple as somehow possible, for the referees as well. The introduction of a blue card would just give more opportunities to fail as well because the discussion will be, ‘It was a blue card, should it have been a yellow card?’ Or, ‘Now it’s 10 minutes off, in the good old times it would have been a red card or only a yellow.’ These kind of things just make it more complicated. It doesn’t sound like a fantastic idea in the first moment but actually I can’t remember the last fantastic idea came from these guys, if they ever had one. I am 56 and, bah, never!
DAVID MOYES WEST HAM
I THINK we are playing around with too much at the moment.
We are still in the process of trying to wholly understand VAR so the introduction of another new thing is not good at this time in the game.
I don’t think it is necessarily required. I think there are an awful lot of other things we are waiting on for a more clear understanding and information from the people at the top regarding decision-making on the refereeing side of it so I don’t think we need any more of it in the game.
There are bits of VAR that have worked well and bits that haven’t but I just don’t see why we would introduce something that would just make it another incident for referees to have to handle.
ROB EDWARDS LUTON
I’M not in favour. We’re a long way off it coming into the game anyway. When the stakes get really high, mistakes happen and get zoomed in on even more. It’s part of the game — I make loads, the players make some, the referees are human beings and that’s going to happen. It’s not the worst thing in the world for me.
We’ve got to be careful we don’t change what is an amazing product. We’ll all make mistakes unless we get robots to do it.