FIFA President Gianni Infantino has issued a statement addressing rumored plans to use a blue card in elite level football.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has issued a’red card to the blue card’ in response to suggestions to implement a new type of punishment in top football.
Infantino has said that blue cards will not be used in elite-level football, essentially ending any immediate concerns about a significant rule change in the professional game.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) proposed having players sin-binned for 10 minutes as an interim punishment between the current yellow and red cards. The blue card was scheduled to be trialed at lesser levels before being introduced at the highest level later.
According to the IFAB, blue cards will be reserved for players who commit cynical fouls or demonstrate disrespect to match officials. After serving 10 minutes in the’sin bin’, the offending player will be able to return to play. Sin bins are currently in use at the lower levels of non-league and women’s football for dissent, although no blue cards are given.
The initiatives drew strong criticism from football supporters. Eddie Howe, Newcastle United’s head coach, chimed in last month. “I’m not a big fan, to be honest,” he told reporters. “I believe that is what yellow cards are for. I believe the current system works great; it simply has to be applied properly.
“I believe that introducing a blue card will increase confusion, hence I am opposed to it.
“It will modify it significantly, but not in a nice way, because I believe it will make it very tiny. More stop-start, and I fear for the players who must go off for 10 minutes and then re-find the flow of a Premier League game after 10 minutes out. I’m not sure it works personally.”
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has publicly attacked the concept of blue cards, claiming that games will become like ‘the Wild West’.
World Football Governing Body FIFA has since stated that claims to implement the cards in elite football were ‘incorrect and premature’.
As a result, the IFAB postponed the release of the blue card recommendations, which were considered at the annual general meeting on March 2.
Ahead of the meeting, FIFA president Infantino assured Sky Sports that no blue cards will be used at the elite level. This is an issue that does not exist for us.
“FIFA is totally opposed to blue cards. I was unaware of this matter, despite the fact that I am the president of FIFA, which has a say in the IFAB.
“If you want a title, it’s a’red card to the blue card’. I’m not sure if this makes sense, but no way, no way. We must be serious, and the IFAB at FIFA must always be open to considering recommendations, and every proposal and idea must, of course, be treated with respect.
“But once you look at it, you have to protect the game, the essence of the game and the tradition of the game – there’s no blue card.”
The FIFA president’s forceful remark will be welcomed by many players, managers, and football clubs who had expressed worries about the proposed rule change.
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