Goalkeepers will not be spared from receiving blue cards under a controversial new rule, marking a significant shift in football refereeing.
According to a report by The Telegraph, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) has green-lit one of the most significant changes in refereeing practices in decades. This move entails players being shown a blue card and temporarily sin-binned for 10 minutes for committing cynical fouls or displaying dissent toward officials.
While sin-bins are already implemented in English grassroots football, the proposed expansion has met resistance from various quarters, including clubs, players, and FIFA. UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin has publicly expressed his lack of support for the introduction of sin-bins in football.
A recent update from The Telegraph reveals that goalkeepers will be subject to receiving blue cards, with an intriguing caveat: managers will be exempt from such penalties.
Should a goalkeeper receive a blue card, their team would face a challenging decision between deploying an outfield player in goal or making a permanent substitution.
The report outlines that if a team has a goalkeeper specialist available on the bench, they can only bring them on if they make a permanent substitution for an outfield player.
Furthermore, if a team has already exhausted their substitutions, an outfield player would be forced to assume the goalkeeping role, similar to scenarios where a goalkeeper is sent off.
Surprisingly, despite the crackdown on dissent in recent years, managers and coaching staff will not be subject to receiving blue cards. Instead, they will continue to face yellow cards for dissent from the sidelines, with the possibility of red cards for persistent dissent or more severe infractions.
The news has sparked a range of reactions on social media, with some fans expressing disbelief and others lamenting the perceived negative impact of the new rule on the sport.
