SPFL could be blue card guinea pigs as IFAB head to Scotland to thrash out sin bin plan

Football chiefs will head to the Bonnie Banks next month to nail down plans to introduce blue cards to the game.

International Football Association Board law makers will hold their AGM at Loch Lomond on March 2 with a major revamp of the rules at the top of the agenda. Beaks are poised to announce plans to trial blue cards – which will see players sent to a sin bin for 10 minutes for cynical fouls or showing dissent to match officials.

IFAB have been testing out the system in youth games in Wales and are set to unveil steps to roll out more trials – with next season’s FA Cup and Women’s FA Cup possible guinea pigs. Elite competition will be excluded from the initial testing but Scottish football could see trials down the levels. SFA chief Ian Maxwell chaired the meeting in London last November where the blue card idea was pushed forward – along with semi-automatic offside technology, body cams for referees and further changes to controversial handball calls.

And Scotland will also host the next set of high level talks when IFAB lands in Glasgow for their 138th annual general meeting – with huge changes on the agenda ahead of the 2024/25 season. The introduction of sin bins will be the major talking point – with the prospect of a new card for the first time since the 1970 World Cup, when yellow and red cards were initially rolled out.

IFAB have been pushing hard in recent years to clean up the behaviour of players on the pitch with stringent guidelines issued last summer with regards to how referees deal with players and coaching staff aiming abuse. Blue cards are seen as the next step with players facing the prospect of 10 minutes on the sidelines for being mouthy to officials.

The game’s chiefs are also keen to stamp