Skip to main content

The International Football Association Board (IFAB), the organization in charge of the rules of the game most people in America know as “soccer,” will meet this Saturday to discuss the potential introduction of a unique blue card. According to the British newspaper The Telegraph, the legislative body’s directors are far from convinced.

The new card would allow a referee to take a player off the pitch for ten minutes in the event of a serious foul or excessively aggressive reaction. If a player took two blue cards (or one blue card and one yellow card) then he would be sent off.

But after strong reactions from the soccer world, particularly in the Premier League – Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou criticized the IFAB for “destroying the sport,” while Jürgen Klopp (Liverpool), Mikel Arteta (Arsenal), Mauricio Pochettino (Chelsea) and Eddie Howe (Newcastle) also expressed their skepticism – The Telegraph reports that IFAB’s directors are far from convinced. They may even reconsider their position this Saturday at the body’s annual general meeting, held this year at Loch Lomond in Glasgow, Scotland.

The blue card initially caused a stir back in January, when UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin told the Telegraph: “It’s not soccer anymore. “The decision as to whether or not to introduce the blue card will be made this Saturday, with all opinions taken into account.

This post is originally from L’Équipe