English football studies the introduction of blue cards facing the new season, as announced by The Telegraph newspaper.
On Friday (9/2), the IFAB (International Football Association Board), which is in charge of dictating the rules of football, will announce the revolutionary measure in what would mean the first new color on cards in more than 50 years.
The blue card will expel the players from the field for 10 minutes if they commit a tactical foul or criticize the decisions of the match referee. Blue cards have so far been used this season during a trial in Welsh grassroots football, with the color chosen instead of orange to clearly differentiate them from a yellow or red card.
The blue card would not replace any of the existing ones, but would be added to the yellow and red ones. In fact, the punishment that would be imposed on those who see it would be halfway to those mentioned. Specifically, it would be applied in plays in which a promising attack is cut off or due to excessive protests to the referee but without incurring what would lead to seeing a red card.
This standard was created with the objective of limit the number of protests referees receive during the development of the matches. Thus, Players who receive them will be sent off for 10 minutes and they will leave their team with one less player. “We have identified bad player behavior as a serious problem for football. We are examining what we can do through changes to the rules of the game. A scheduled sending off could be a greater deterrent than a warning. There is also a lot of interest from various parties interested in the idea that only the captain can properly approach the referee”, declared Lukas Brud. IFAB member.
According to the same information from The Telegraph, the English Federation has presented itself as a volunteer, so everything indicates that the first rehearsals would take place in matches of the men’s and women’s FA Cup next season. What would be completely ruled out for now is that the blue card is seen in the Euro Cup next summer or Champions League 2024/25. Alexander Ceferinpresident of UEFA, was one of the most critical against the blue card when talk began about its possible implementation.
Finally, to understand the magnitude of what the arrival of the blue card in football would mean, it is worth remembering that the current card system, with the existence of yellow and red, has been in force since the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. It has already rained enough since then without there having been any modifications in this regard.
