The International Football Association Board, (IFAB), the body that determines the Laws of the Game, has just announced some of the suggestions for changes to the laws that will be considered at their AGM on March 2.
Changes agreed at that time, will not come into force until next June. The members of the IFAB are England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and FIFA but suggestions for changes can come from anywhere in the footballing world.
One of the proposed changes is the extension of Sin Bins or its correct title, Temporary Dismissals. The use of Sin Bins was first approved in 2017, but it was limited to youth, veterans, disability and grassroots football. It was then up to the various national FA’s or Confederations as they are called in some countries, to decide whether to use it or not.
If they agreed to use it, then another decision had to be made, what cautionable (yellow card) offences would it be used for.
There are two systems. In System A, it is used for all yellow card offences. In System B a limited number is chosen. The FA went for System B, deciding to restrict it to one offence only, that of dissent. All other cautionable offences still receive a yellow card in the normal way.
The length of the temporary dismissal depends on the length of the game. For example, if the game is one that lasts for ninety minutes, then the time will be ten minutes but if it is an 80-minute match the dismissal will last for eight minutes.
The whole procedure until the player has left the pitch, will also of course add a little more time to the length of the match.
The idea or philosophy behind temporary dismissals is that an immediate punishment can have a positive influence, not only on the player concerned but to all their team. The initial results did appear to curtail the number of yellow cards for dissent, which is of course the intention.
Any player who received two suspensions in a match, cannot take any further part in the game but can be substituted after the length of the second suspension has been played, providing the team has not used its maximum number of substitutes.
The thought is that the club is punished by the two suspensions. However, a player who has a suspension and another yellow card for a different offence, can continue to play.
As far as I know, none of this will change, except that Sin Bins can be extended to cover senior amateur footbal
By Dick Sawdon Smith
