'Pathetic' - Sin bin plans slammed as Nottingham Forest and Premier league prepare for change

Referee Martin Thoene (L) sends Niklas Weller (not in the picture) of Handball Sport Verein Hamburg with red and blue card from the pitch

Nottingham Forest could one day see their players being ‘blue-carded’ after news that football’s rule makers are set to announce a trial for the use of sin bins in the game.

The temporary player dismissals would be signalled by a blue card giving referees a third disciplinary option during games. The plans will initially be tested outside top-tier competitions, with players being sent off for 10 minutes if they commit a cynical foul or show dissent towards an official.

Although the European Championship finals won’t use sin-bins, trials could start elsewhere as early as this summer, says the International Football Association Board (Ifab). A player will see red if they get two blue cards in a match or a mix of yellow and blue.

And if it’s successful, it could be introduced in the Premier League and become part of the norm for football fans.

Our football writers have shared their thoughts on the plan. Aston Villa writer for BirminghamLive, John Townley, believes it’s a terrible idea that should never have been considered. He feels football has been watered down too much already, with fouls given for minimal contact and players diving in the box instead of trying to score. To him, the blue card is a new low.

Keith Wales, content editor for NottinghamshireLive, expressed his dissatisfaction with the new rules. He said: “Nobody wants to see officials being verbally abused by players, and there should be a clamp down, but not in this way. Meanwhile, giving players sin-bins for cynical fouls is a pathetic idea.”

He further added: “If it infringes on the ethos of the game, as so-called professional fouls have done for years, the offender deserves a red card, not some shilly-shallying like this. There’s lots not to like about the modern game off the pitch, so why ruin the spectacle on it?

“Do the people who run football these days have an original thought in their heads? With a very few exceptions, it seems most rules changes we now see originate from other sports.”

He also pointed out that the new protocol will limit use of the new card to fouls that prevent a promising attack plus dissent. He explained: “The new protocol will confirm that a player should be shown a red card if they receive two blue cards during a match, or a combination of a yellow caution plus a blue. Confused? Imagine how referees will manage, especially with the vagaries of VAR already causing mayhem.”

Nottingham Forest writer, Sarah Clapson believes that football should focus on improving existing rules, such as handball policies and the VAR system, rather than introducing new ones. She thinks adding another level of card would only confuse fans more and potentially lead to longer VAR stoppages.

She said: There is enough confusion around refereeing decisions as it is without adding another level of card into the mix.

“Fans already have no idea what is going on with officials half the time, and this would just be another thing to get frustrated about – and potentially to contribute to lengthy VAR stoppages. No, blue cards and sin bins are not for me.

NottinghamshireLive head of sport, Steve Wollaston, on the other hand, supports the idea of sin bins. He sees them as a sensible deterrent to red cards and a way for referees to use their discretion to improve the game. He also thinks they could add excitement and intrigue. However, he suggests that consistency with VAR should be improved before any new elements are introduced.

He stated: “Sin bins? Bring them on. It’s a great aspect to ice hockey and it would serve as a sensible deterrent to red cards.It will give referees another level of using their initiative and discretion to change the game for the better.

“There’s also the element of excitement and intrigue it will bring in. Personally I think they should make sure the consistency levels are better with VAR before they bring anything else into play, but long term, there’s no reason why this couldn’t work pretty well.

“As long as bad challenges are suitably penalised, then it is an idea with merit. I’d use the sin bins to give the eyes In the sky more time to evaluate potential red cards that could be avoided with a sin bin, or validated while they are on the bench where they should then invariably be made to stay.”

The Stoke Sentinel’s Stoke City writer, Pete Smith agrees with the idea of sin bins, but only if bad challenges are suitably penalised, he remarked: “There have been a couple of genuinely good innovations this year from the refs. The 30-second physio jail for when a player needs on-field treatment must have dramatically slashed the hours we’ve all spent watching time wasters have a mid-game drink.

“How much of our lives has been spent watching someone having a sit down on the pitch for a couple of minutes before running around enough to show that there was nothing much wrong with them?

“The clamp down on dissent has been overdue too and it has been annoying to the point of infuriating that some players still haven’t learned to keep their mouths shut. The big problem, however, has been consistency between different officials in different matches and, far too often in the Championship, consistency from the same official in the same match.

“Some refs are able to manage games much better than others without the need for an alternative punishment. Perhaps it would be better to get all refs up to that standard rather than give a loose cannon another card to confuse him or her and the rest of us.”

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