Blue card rule will be explained as we decode how the new card will be used and what effect it could have on the current system of football.
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Blue card – the origin
It is the idea from the International Football Association Board (IFAB), who usually creates new regulations in bid to improve the beautiful game.
On February 8th, IFAB announced that football is set to receive significant change with the introduction of blue cards.
The football’s lawmakers body, will trail the new concept, which has been in use at the grassroots level for dissent but could be extended to cynical fouls. Hockey fans fill find this concept pretty familiar as it is used in this sport as part of the sin-bin. But to football, blue cards will make enormous changes.
The current two-color card system
To put it simple, the current card system only has two colors: Yellow and Red, which are used by referees to determine the seriousness of the foul.
As time passes, yellow card has also been applied for dissent, non-serious fouls, for example: removing a T-shirt without permission or excess celebration after a goal. With a yellow. card, the player who is at foul, can still stay and play on.
A red card means early bath for player, coach or even substitute players, who are deemed to have made an injury-causing severe foul or denied a clear goal-scoring opportunity, violent conduct, like spitting at an opposition player or physically abusing a player, fan, or ball boy.
A red card is also issued if they receive a second yellow card in the exact match. The referees also have the right to show red cards if they feel more severe cases other than the ones mentioned above. Upon receiving the red card, the concerned player has to leave the field, is not part of the bench anymore, and is not allowed to sit in the team dugout.
Blue card definition and how it works
Blue card means something in between the OGs Yellow and Red as the players who receive this card will serve a 10-minute suspension and be able to return after the punishment ends. This system is similar to the sin-bin in hockey, where players receive green, yellow, and red cards and serve timeouts of two, five, and ten minutes, respectively.
It will be applied for such incidents that are serious but not in the territory of second yellow cards (resulting in a red card) or a player who shows dissent on the field could be issued a blue card.
This will result in the player serving a 10-minute suspension and returning to the field after serving punishment.
And goalkeeper is not safe from this new rule, If a goalkeeper receives a blue card, it will force teams to choose between sticking an outfield player in goal or making a permanent substitution under these new sin-bin trials.
Effects of the Blue Card Introduction
As things stand, red cards remain the highest order of punishment, resulting in a one, three, or more match suspension for the player. Yellow cards remain the second-highest order of punishment. They could result in a ban for the player after picking up several during the season. Blue cards are likely to replace yellow cards as the second-highest order of punishment, as the player is temporarily sent off rather than being on the field despite receiving a card.
Since blue cards (sin-bin) were introduced partially in 2018, the Football Association (FA) has reported a total of 38 percent reduction in dissent cases. If this is the same, player’s discipline on the field towards officials and opposition players is expected to improve.
It is also expected that more cynical tackles that are not in the range of red cards but more serious than yellow card offenses could result in blue cards. This will also help the player avoid a three-match ban for a serious foul. However, being a more serious case than a yellow card, a player could still serve a ban after picking a blue card.
When could blue cards be introduced?
Still, under trial, the blue cards will only be implemented when there is a good response with less criticism of the system. IFAB’s implementation of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) also received a lot of backlash at the start. Still, it was eventually accepted after a lot of criticism.
The English FA will be cautious of circumstances that had arisen during the implementation of the VAR in the Premier League. The FA could use the blue cards first in the League Cup and the FA Cup before implementing them in the Premier League.
