Managers in the English Premier League and beyond have been almost unequivocal in their disapproval of the idea of a new card being introduced in football. According to reports the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which governs the laws of the game, is considering rolling out a new card in which a blue card would be added to the existing yellow and red cards.
The rule has been trialed in amateur leagues in England and Wales, with players being shown the blue card being disqualified from the match for 10 minutes. If a player is shown a second blue card after they come back on, they are shown a red card and sent off from the game. FIFA has specified that the new rule will first be tested out at the lower levels of the sport before being introduced in any kind of top flight of football.
The trial is designed to assess whether temporary dismissals for dissent and specific tactical offences such as so-called ‘professional’ fouls – where a player deliberately takes out an opponent in an attacking situation when a red card isn’t warranted – can improve player behaviour and increase respect for match officials.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp felt that such a rule will only make a referee’s task more difficult. “These kinds of things just make it more complicated,” Klopp told a news conference. “If you want to test it, no problem with testing, but if that’s the first step to agreeing or already being sure that it will happen. I have no idea to be honest. I have no idea. (It) doesn’t sound like a fantastic idea in first moment. But I can’t remember when the last fantastic idea came from these guys (IFAB) if they ever had one.”
Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou said that sin-bins and blue cards will “destroy football”. “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,” Postecoglou said.“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.”
Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta said that while he could see the wisdom behind the rule, he doubts if sin-bins would benefit the game in the short term. “We’ve got a lot going on now with decisions, with technology, with what has come in. I don’t know if we’re ready for that yet. Hopefully it’s going to be tested very well before we introduce it at this level,” he said.
Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino said that he would like to exactly when and to whom a blue card would apply. “It’s going to be more complicated because the interpretation of the referee [of] when to apply the red, the yellow or the blue [is important],” Pochettino said. “What happens with the goalkeeper? Do you play without the goalkeeper for 10 minutes or can you change? We will see.”
In La Liga, Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti said that a blue card and sin-bins will do the opposite of simplifying a referee’s job. “The idea I have in general is to simplify the rules as much as possible. I don’t know if [blue cards] simplify the referee’s job or not. The rules are more complicated every year. I don’t know if a blue card makes a referee’s job more simple, or more difficult,” he said.
