Blue cards set to be dropped from sin-bin trials after furore

Blue cards are set to be dropped from sin bin trials planned by football's lawmakers.

The cards were set to be unveiled as the method used to signal a temporary dismissal in trial protocols originally scheduled for publication on February 9, a move which would have marked the biggest change in managing player discipline in the professional game since the introduction of red and yellow cards for the 1970 World Cup.

However, there was a largely negative reaction when reports about blue cards surfaced on the eve of publication, and the International Football Association Board, which sets the game’s laws, opted to delay publication of the protocol.

The cards are now set to be scrapped following further talks between IFAB’s directors on the eve of the organisation’s annual general meeting in Loch Lomond, it is understood.

The trial itself has not been revoked, but it is expected it will take place at a much lower footballing level than was anticipated by the original February 9 protocol, which was set to encourage applications from all but the very top-level competitions.

The Football Association, one of the five bodies which makes up the IFAB, was understood to have been interested in running a trial in the men’s and women’s FA Cups in the future, before the furore around blue cards.

There is also set to be further talks on Saturday about whether any sin bin trial should include tactical fouls, as well as dissent. Under the original protocol, all players on the pitch, including goalkeepers, can be temporarily dismissed.

Sin bin trials were one of four protocols set for publication last month before the blue card story broke.

The IFAB is also seeking to trial allowing referees the option of creating a 'captain-only zone’ around them