15 November 2023 , 09:57
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Sin bins could be introduced to punish players for displays of dissent, with football’s rule-makers expected to consider introducing trials when they meet later this month.
The International Football Association Board (Ifab) will weigh up whether to pave the way for a trial when it meets in London on November 28.
Sin bins, lasting 10 minutes, have already been introduced across some grassroots leagues in England and have received predominantly positive feedback. And the same measure could be trialled in professional football and, should that prove effective, it could be introduced across the game.
The current idea would be to only make a sin bin available for disrespectful behaviour towards match officials and not foul play. There has already been a clampdown on how players act towards referees this season and 13 games into the Premier League campaign 88 yellow cards have been shown for dissent.
Lukas Brud, the chief executive of Ifab, told The Times: “We have identified participant misbehaviour as a major problem for football and it will be the main topic for Ifab for the upcoming years. We are looking at what we can do either via the Laws of the Game or recommendations and guidelines for additional measures.
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“Sin-bins for dissent have worked well in grassroots football, and some believe these could also be tested at a higher level, with trials in more senior football. Players may not worry so much about getting a yellow card for saying something inappropriate to a referee, but it can make a big difference if they know it means a tenth of the match off the pitch.”
Another option being explored, influenced by rugby union, is to only allow captains to speak to referees. Premier League clubs were informed at the start of this season that their players could be shown a yellow card if more than two approach the referee during a match. There has also been a clampdown on players kicking the ball away as a delay tactic.
Brud added: “There is also a lot of interest from different stakeholders for the idea where only the captain can approach the referee in a fair way. Players approaching in an aggressive manner simply cannot be tolerated any longer.
“We have even seen on a number of occasions where players deliberately go behind a referee with others coming in front of him so he cannot get away. If only the captain can approach the referee, then afterwards he or she can explain to their team-mates what has happened. This has worked well in other sports such as rugby and basketball.”
Ifab introduced seven changes to the Laws of the Game for this season - including goal celebrations becoming “a separate bullet point in the list of causes of time lost for which the referee makes allowance.” That, alongside VAR delays, has resulted in many games having double-figure additional time and led to criticism from several players towards competition organisers and Ifab.