FIFA President Infantino Shut Down Blue Card Idea

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has dismissed the idea of bringing blue cards in football.

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) intends to add blue cards into the game; this may happen as early as next season, according to a story published in The Telegraph last month. Even though the report stated that the cards would not be used in elite competitions, should the Football Association (FA) volunteer the competitions as part of the trial, they might be given a go in domestic cup competitions like the FA Cup and League Cup. However, FIFA had rejected the notion of using blue cards in high-level matches.

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Now FIFA president Infantino has backed the organisation as he claimed that there is “no way” the rule change will happen, as he told reporters, “This is a topic that is non-existent for us. Fifa is completely opposed to blue cards. I was not aware of this topic, the president of Fifa – and I think Fifa has a say in IFAB. No way. We have to be serious. We are always open to looking at ideas and proposals and everything has to be treated with respect of course. But once you look at it you also have to protect the essence and tradition of the game. There is no blue card.”

As part of a sin-bin trial, the proposed rule modification would have been implemented to lessen players’ protests against referees and cynical fouls. A player would have been exiled for ten minutes during the trials.

The proposal to introduce blue cards is probably going to be shelved, but according to The Athletic, sin bins might be approved when FIFA and IFAB convene on Sunday for the Annual General Meeting.