I can't remember FIFA's last good idea. The lawmakers of football, IFAB, announced on Thursday the introduction of new rules. Yet, nothing is what happens then with the 10 minutes sin bin? What if the keepers get a blue card? And the biggest question, how should the referees keep an overview and make the right decisions?
Referees nowadays are already overwhelmed with the many rules in football and constantly make bad decisions. Be it the VAR, the offside, or the hand rule. They even make mistakes in the proper usage of yellow and red cards. And now they should assign the severity of a foul to one of the three colors.
Of course, it will lead to even more discussions and criticism. FIFA announced that this rule will not apply to top-tier leagues right now as it is still in the testing phase. It is already being tested in amateur leagues and youth games. It is being speculated that the new rule could be used in the FA Cup next season and would therefore impact some big clubs. If this rule is really implemented, it would be the first introduction of cards since the 1970 World Cup. The goal of IFAB is to improve the behavior of the players, which has worsened lately. So they have even more ideas.
One of them is to prevent time-wasting from the keepers. The new rule would award the opponent a corner kick in these cases. IFAB also considers a rule where the referees can call a break when things get heated. The game would stop and the players would get separated until they cool down. Also in trial is the idea that only team captains can discuss with the referee. This would certainly lead to fewer discussions. You have to keep in mind these are just ideas and will undergo trial, so nothing is official yet. It is also being discussed if the VAR can intervene in discussions about a second yellow card or even a corner and free kicks.
What do you think? Would these lately discussed rules make the game fairer or will it become even more complicated? Write us your opinion in the comments. Of course, the new rules also have pros. If you think back to the foul from Kini at Saka in the 2020 Euro, where he pulls Saka's shirt and stops an attack, everyone knows the meme. But if you watch the game, you know that it could have led to a goal chance.
According to Opta, there have already been 354 yellow cards given for time-wasting or discussing with the blue card. These types of unsportsmanlike behavior could be prevented. But as already said, many fans, managers, and players think the counter-arguments are heavier and are really against the rule. Even the UEFA president is against the rule as it's not football anymore. But as of now, the rules are on trial and IFAB guaranteed that they will only implement these rules if there is no big criticism. The same they said about the much-criticized VAR, but you know how that ended.
The rules have been decided and will be tried in smaller leagues.
But already now, many fans are confused and think it would rather ruin our beautiful game. The cause for the biggest upset was certainly the announcement of a possible blue card. Yes, you heard right, another card for the already overstrained referees. They could even play UNO now instead of doing their jobs. So of course, many people are upset.
They say it will ruin the game and they should rather fix things that are really broken, like the handball rule. The blue card is planned to be a thing between a red and a yellow card.
While a yellow card warns the players of their foul, a red card expels the player from the pitch. With a blue card, there will be a punishment of a 10-minute suspension and the following return of the player. It is intended for cynical fouls, fouls that prevent promising attacks, or disrespecting a match official. So it is meant for cases where the foul is more serious than a yellow but not severe enough for a red. But here it gets weird. They combine the colors.
Two yellows or two blue cards add up to a red. That makes sense. But if you get a combination of a yellow and a blue, it will also lead to a red. If you already have a yellow card and then get a blue one, you get sent off.
