July 30 – English football is introducing temporary dismissals, popularly known as sinbins, at grassroots level from the start of the forthcoming season.
The innovation will be introduced across all levels of the grassroots game under which, similar to rugby union, the referee will be allowed to dismiss a player for 10 minutes.
The English Football Association says it saw a 38% reduction in dissent following a testing phase.
“The FA successfully piloted sin bins during the 2017-18 season, and then extended this to a total of 31 leagues throughout the 2018-19 season as part of its commitment to improve the match day experience for all,” the FA said in a statement.
“After gathering positive feedback from players, referees and coaches, sin bins will now be rolled out across all leagues at grassroots level in a bid to increase participation and to continue improving match day experiences.”
The move does not cover the upper echelons of non-league football but nevertheless represents an important development.
“Dissent is a key part of the game that needs to be tackled,” said the FA’s chief executive Mark Bullingham. “Our pilot phase has proved that sin bins work well. The trial showed a huge impact on behaviour that we want to roll out to the whole game and make it more enjoyable for everyone.”
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