Graeme Souness claims blue cards and sin bins could eradicate diving from Premier League

The idea of introducing blue cards to the Premier League has been widely panned, but Graeme Souness has offered a different take

Graeme Souness, the former Liverpool player, has suggested that blue cards could work in the Premier League if used correctly. This comes despite the idea being widely unpopular among managers, players, fans and pundits who see it as unnecessary and overly complicated.

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) proposed introducing blue cards to punish things like dissent and cynical fouls. Players would be sent off for 10 minutes, with blue cards acting as a stronger deterrent than a yellow card but less severe than a red one.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp and Newcastle manager Eddie Howe have been among those opposing the idea. Due to the strong backlash, IFAB have now delayed their announcement. However, Souness believes that blue cards do have a place in the game, provided they're only used in certain situations.

Graeme Souness has shared his thoughts on a potential solution to diving in football, in a piece for the Daily Mail. "If a player is guilty of this, off you go," he suggested, "Go and sit on the touchline for 10 minutes and nurse that serious injury you don't have. Overnight, this would remove such simulation. I guarantee, the first weekend it was introduced, players would stop doing it. Right away, that makes for a better game."

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Souness also reckons that blue cards would work well for other bad behaviours currently not covered by yellow or red cards. He says footballers who pretend to show cards to get opponents booked and those who are mean to the referee should spend 10 minutes on the sidelines.

He added: "If the Premier League, the most-watched league in the world, can set a better example and get its house in order in this respect, you would hope it would filter down to the Sunday leagues, where some of the outrageous behaviour has included physical assaults on officials."