'Blue card' sin bin rule could leave Liverpool with tricky decision – and Jurgen Klopp isn’t happy
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) proposed the idea of blue cards and sin bins, which has been met with strong opposition from Jurgen Klopp and others
Goalkeepers might be sent to the sin bin under new rules around blue cards, which could mean an outfield player has to step in between the sticks. The International Football Association Board (IFAB) suggested this idea for blue cards and sin bins, where players would be sidelined for 10 minutes for tactical fouls or time wasting.
This suggestion has already faced strong opposition from big names in football, including Premier League managers Jurgen Klopp and Ange Postecoglou. Despite the backlash, more details about the initiative have been revealed.
FIFA clarified that there are no immediate plans to use blue cards at elite levels after the idea was met with scorn. However, a recent report from The Telegraph stated that while managers would be exempt from sin bins, goalkeepers wouldn't be.
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If a goalkeeper gets a blue card, they can either be replaced by an outfield player temporarily or substituted for another goalkeeper. But any substitutions would be permanent, leaving managers with a tough choice, especially early in games: Do you give an outfield player 10 minutes in goal, or bring on your second-choice goalkeeper straight away?
Liverpool manager Klopp, who picked up a yellow card during Liverpool's 3-1 victory over Burnley, voiced his worries in his pre-match press conference. He stated: "I think everything that the actual situation shows is we should keep it as simple as somehow possible, for the referees as well.
"It's a difficult job, often quite emotional when we speak about it more so because it's after the game, and I think the introduction of a blue card would just give more opportunities to fail as well because the discussion will be: 'It was a blue card, should it have been a yellow card, now it's 10 minutes off, in the good old times it would have been a red card or only a yellow'.
"These kind of things just make it more complicated. If they want to test it I have no problem with testing if that's the first step to agreeing or it already being sure it will happen I don't know that.
"It doesn't sound like a fantastic idea in the first moment but actually I can't remember the last fantastic idea (which) came from these guys, if they ever had one. I am 56 and, pah, never."