March 4 – FIFA President Gianni Infantino has ruled out blue cards being shown to players sent to sin bins.
A plan had been contemplated by some of football’s lawmakers for a new card to join the long-standing red and yellows.
Sin bins are currently only used at the lower levels of grassroots football, with players sent into them for 10 minutes for dissent.
But Infantino rejected the idea of blue cards being used in the professional game.
The potential for colour mixing would have added another layer to an already the controversial system: a player returning from the sin-bin and earning a subsequent blue card would escalate to a red card, resulting in a permanent expulsion.
Similarly, a strategic blend of one blue and one yellow card could spell out a red card, marking a significant shift in the traditional card system.
Speaking in Scotland ahead of Saturday’s meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB), Infantino scoffed at the idea, implying he was left out of initial discussions.
“I was not aware of this topic, the president of FIFA – and I think FIFA has a say in IFAB,” he told reporters. “FIFA is completely opposed to blue cards. Red card to the blue card. No way. You have to be serious.”
“We are always open at IFAB, at FIFA, to look into ideas and proposals… but once you look at it you also have to protect the game, the essence of the game, the tradition of the game. There is no blue card.”
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