Time we look to sin-bin in a bid to prevent more rubbish

I WAS flicking through the channels last Sunday, looking for the Celtic game, when another flashed up on screen.

I did not know the teams involved but at that very moment one player skipped past an opponent in midfield.

His opposite number chased him then lashed out with his feet, bringing down the player from behind.

The referee waved away the protests from the injured guy’s teammates and produced a yellow card.

I could not believe my eyes. It was a blatant, unjustified foul and deserved the ultimate punishment.

Now I realise many referees are reluctant to issue red cards, mainly due to the stick they may receive.

But justice must be done – which is why the sin-bin must be brought in.

A yellow card makes no difference to the player’s status on the day.

Any slap on the wrist would come if and when they collect more.

For those football enthusiasts who do not want to copy rugby’s use of the sin-bin, let’s be different – make our stay 15 minutes rather than 10.

And there is another change I would like to see tried out. This scenario is one you will have seen many times.

The keeper passes to the right-back, the ball goes to one centre-back then another before the left-back has it.

He looks up the pitch, decides there is no suitable outlet so passes back to the keeper, who blasts it up the park.

What about putting a new regulation in place where a player cannot pass the ball backwards in his own half.

If playing at the top level, he – or she – should have the talent to find a player with a pass or indeed come forward with the ball to get into a position where they could do so.

And if they take the easy option and deliberately kick the ball out of play then they get a seat in the new sin-bin.

Let’s have matches to see how these new ideas would work in practice. That is what happened in the 1920s when the goalscoring rate started to drop.

At Cathkin Park on February 9, 1924, Third Lanark hosted Celtic in a match controlled by two referees. Celtic won 2-1 but reports suggested the idea was neither a success nor a failure and that further trials might be necessary.

In 1925, the FA arranged three games where teams played 45 minutes with a 40-yard offside line and the other 45 with two defending players needed between an attacker and goal for the player to be onside. That was instead of three, then the law.

And at the risk of being accused of borrowing another rule from rugby, their idea of penalising players who dispute a referee’s decision with a 10-yard penalty is also worth an airing.

OUR TOP WRITERS GIVE THEIR FEARLESS VERDICTS EVERY DAY IN RECORD SPORT