The international organization that decides on the rules of professional football (IFAB) is considering creating a new card to punish players who commit aggression or have unsportsmanlike behavior: in addition to the yellow card (a warning) and the red card (for more serious fouls, or for the sum of two yellow cards), there would be a blue card, as confirmed to Noticias Telemundo, which would expel the sanctioned player from the field of play for a period of time.
In recent days, the British press speculated about the possibility that this measure would begin to be tested in its professional soccer league imminently.
But these reports
lack context.
FIFA “clarified” on February 8 on
its account
on the social network
“Such testing, if done, should be limited to responsible testing at lower levels.”
He added that he would “reiterate” this at the IFAB assembly scheduled for March 2.
A blue card would expel players for 10 minutes (of the 90 that a match normally lasts), for example, who protest their decision or disrespect an opponent;
two blue cards (or one blue and one yellow) would be equivalent to one red, according to Sky News, the sister channel in the United Kingdom of Noticias Telemundo.
The IFAB is considering adding a blue card, in addition to the yellow and red ones.
Victor Decolongon/Getty Images
The IFAB introduced blue cards in amateur football in the United Kingdom in the 2019-2020 season.
"Their success is prevention rather than cure," CEO Mark Bullingham told
The Athletic
in November.
Its application at a professional level generated protests on social networks and from Premier League coaches, according to the Daily Mail newspaper. And also the rejection of the International Professional Football Federation (FIFA, which organizes, among other tournaments, the World Cup ): its president, Alexander Ceferin, described the measure as "the death of football", according to The Guardian newspaper.
Will the blue card be implemented then?
The IFAB indicated to Noticias Telemundo through an email that, to “improve the behavior” of the players and “increase respect for referees,” it agreed to carry out “several tests” at its November 2023 assembly. “These tests they include temporary expulsions at higher levels” with blue cards.
He did not specify what those higher levels are (i.e. whether they would be professional leagues or even international FIFA competitions).
And he delayed “final discussions” to its March 2 meeting: “Detailed testing protocols will be published later,” he added in his email, emphasizing that it would be for testing, not a final rule.
NBC News, the sister network of Noticias Telemundo in the United States, reported in November 2023 that the IFAB had approved starting to experiment with temporary expulsions (which already exist in other sports such as ice hockey or rugby) "at higher levels" after the "successful" tests in amateur football.
Its professional-level implementation would be, NBC News indicated, the biggest rule change since 1992 when it was decided to punish goalkeepers with a yellow card for grabbing a pass behind a teammate with their hand.
At its November meeting, the IFAB also recommended testing a new rule whereby only the captain of each team could approach the referee in certain situations.
The measure applied at the amateur level of referees carrying cameras to record possible incidents was also considered a success.
In January 2023, according to Sky News, another type of card, which is not yet universal, was applied for the first time in Portuguese football: in a women's match between Sporting Lisbon and Benfica, the medical teams of both teams treated to a spectator who fainted in the stands.
Both teams were then given a white card, an initiative by the Portuguese Football Federation to reward fair play.
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