Goalkeepers would not be exempt from blue cards under new sin-bin protocols
Goalkeepers would be eligible to receive blue cards and be sent to the sinbin during a match under controversial new protocols still to be published by the game’s lawmakers.
Sin-bin trial protocols developed by the International Football Association Board (Ifab) make provision for any player on the pitch to be sent from the field temporarily for dissent or a tactical foul. The proposed blue card system would not extend to substitutes, substituted players or team coaching staff.
As reported by the Daily Telegraph on Mondaythe Daily Telegraph yesterday, under the current protocols goalkeepers would not be exempt from being sent to the sin-bin. Also, no penalised player can be substituted until their temporary period on the sidelines – expected to be 10 minutes – has ended.
That would mean a team whose goalkeeper was shown a blue card would have two options to avoid leaving opponents an open goal. The more drastic option would be to put an outfield player in goal as cover during the period of temporary dismissal. Alternatively,
managers could bring on a permanent substitute goalkeeper for an outfield player to cover the absence. They would then need to withdraw either the original keeper or their replacement, assuming that the team had enough substitutions left.
Protocols designed to improve player behaviour, including sin-bins, captain-only zones and cooling-off periods were set to be revealed last Friday but their publication has now been delayed indefinitely, pending further talks at the Ifab annual general meeting in early March.
The delay in publication of the Ifab protocols came after multiple media reports surfaced on Thursday last week about the introduction of blue cards as part of sin-bin trials. It was reported that a backlash against the idea contributed to the decision to delay, but no formal explanation has been given.
It is thought that the trials were not intended to be introduced at the top level of professional football during the initial phase, although there were expressions of interest in the idea from a number of Europe’s top leagues.
The Football Association was understood last week to be considering a trial of the new protocols in the men’s or women’s FA Cup at some stage in the future. The Fifa’s referees’ chief, Pierluigi Collina, said in November that the trials would “very probably” involve professional football, possibly at a “high” level.
When reports concerning blue cards emerged, a Fifa statement read: “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.”