A player who coughs voluntarily towards an opposing player or towards a referee during a match could be sanctioned with a red card, decided Tuesday the International board (Ifab), guarantor of the laws of the game. Even in professional football, where players are generally regularly tested and therefore assumed not to be carriers of the coronavirus causing Covid-19, Ifab has indicated that the referee may decide that this constitutes a dangerous or insulting gesture.
With immediate effect in England
“As with all rule violations, the referee will have to judge what the true nature of this violation is,” explained Ifab. "If it is clearly accidental, the referee will not have to act, as well as if the cough has occurred at a sufficient distance from any other player," added the Board. The English football federation also indicated on Tuesday that this measure would be applied at the level of amateur and leisure football with immediate effect. However, she opened the door to a simple warning for "unsportsmanlike attitude" if the incident was not serious enough to warrant a red card.
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