There will be a new penalty in football — a blue card. Having received it, the player will be forced to leave the field for 10 minutes. According to The Telegraph, such innovations have already been approved by the International Council of Football Associations.
Initially, the organization considered a different color for the card — for example, orange, but in the end the choice was made in favor of blue. The media report that if a player is shown two blue cards during a match, it will be the same as a red card — meaning he will be forced to leave the field for good. In addition, he will be removed if he receives a combination of yellow and blue cards.
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It is planned that the blue card will be tested first in women’s and youth football, as well as in lower league matches. This could happen in the summer of 2024: the Football Association of England has expressed its readiness to begin the experiment from next season.
Why will they give you a blue card?
The Telegraph writes that a player may get a blue card if he commits the following violations:
- a tactical foul that will deprive the opponent of a promising attack;
- manifestation of disagreement with the decisions of the arbitrator.
An example of a moment for which a blue card could be given is an incident in the final match of Euro 2020 between the national teams of Italy and England. Then Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini tried to stop Bukayo Saka in order to disrupt his breakthrough into a counterattack, and almost tore his T‑shirt. Then Chiellini was given a yellow card, but according to the proposed rules, he would have left the field for 10 minutes, leaving his team in the minority.
Who opposed the blue card
FIFA said that the issue of introducing a blue card will be considered at the general meeting of the association, scheduled for March 2. In a statement, the organization said there had been media reports suggesting the imminent introduction of this innovation at elite football level, but that they were “incorrect and premature.”
Meanwhile, UEFA head Aleksander Čeferin opposed the introduction of blue cards, saying that such punishments have nothing to do with football.
Football fans are also rebelling against the initiative. It is expected that in the near future the ultras of the largest European clubs will make a statement that they will begin to disrupt and boycott matches if the referees have cards of a new color.