Explained | What is the sin bin that IFAB wants to introduce in professional football?

The game of football involves a lot of planning before execution, and talking about the field play, that is often fuelled with seamless energy and aggression, coloured cards have been part of this international sport since decades. A referee on field is authorised to warn the foul players on field, and also suspend them if the dissent goes beyond the rules of the game.

While yellow and red cards are displayed for cautions and dismissals, blue cards or sin bins were introduced by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) for all grassroots in the game, in 2019. Implemented up to Step 5 of the National League System and Tier 3 and below in women’s football, the England Football describes sin bins to be "temporary dismissals".

Such dismissals are termed sin bins and are issued for 10 minutes at the referees' discretion as punishment for dissent, and apply to all levels of grassroots football, including youth, veterans and the disabled. The primary goal of IFAB to streamline sin bin that it calls a 'positive rule' for the game is to basically promote a fair game play.

While soccer legend Pele described football as a "beautiful game"— this particular sport involves many traits and tricks that most times either delay the matches while otherwise lead to certain unintended arguments that may lead to a player's removal from the game. Such events also include cynical tackles, time-wasting, deliberate handballs, and dissent that a referee has to deal with.

A picture showing how a player would end up getting sin bins.

FIFA adapted the coloured penalty system in 1970 and since then, yellow cards have been the only tool for a referee to caution a player on field. To date, the system in place is that a player who is shown two yellow cards is inviting a suspension from the game, however, if the referee shows a red card straight, the player shall be immediately suspended from the field.

The blue card or sin bin as the IFBA termed it will supposedly give the breather to the escalating heat during the game play on field, and immediately allow the referee to suspend a player for 10 minutes.

Till now since sin bin has been introduced, over 30 leagues have used this blue card rule resulting which there has reportedly been a 38 per cent drop in dissent on field, with 72 per cent players choosing sin bin as an option, while Sportstar said that 77 per cent managers and coaches chose sin bin over excessive dissent from their players.

The IFAB is now keen to introduce the sin bin or the blue card rule into professional football matches. The new card system along with sin bin are very much likely to be the centre of discussion at the 138th Annual General Meeting (AGM) that will be held in UK's Glasgow on March 2, 2024.

In a release recently, IFAB shared, "Potential changes and clarifications for the Laws of the Game 2024/25 will also be discussed. These will include a possible amendment to Law 12 (Fouls and Misconduct) whereby handball offences, for which penalties are awarded, would be sanctioned using the same philosophy as for fouls, and to Law 14 (The Penalty Kick), regarding player encroachment and the position of the ball on the penalty mark."

"The members will consider various matters discussed at the recent Annual Business Meeting (ABM) of The IFAB, in particular the progress on the approved trials aiming to improve participant behaviour," the release further read.