‘Indiscipline has cost us this match,’ so said England’s rugby coach, Martin Johnson, after their defeat at the hands of Wales by 14 points to 13 in the Six Nations Tournament. He was referring to the suspension of key players in the ‘sin-bin’.
For non-rugby followers, players who are shown the yellow card have to leave the field of play for a period of ten minutes. This reduces the team during the match in which the misbehaviour takes place and as was seen in the England/Wales game, can have a direct effect on the result of the match.
In football of course, a player who is guilty of a cautionable offence and receives a yellow card, might or might not get a suspension some time in the future, when in any case his team will be allowed to be at full strength.
At the recent International FA Board meeting, the Irish Football Association put forward a proposition to ‘gauge the opinion of the Board on the possibility of using sin bins for players guilty of breaches of the law currently resulting in the administration of a yellow card’. However it was agreed that the concept would not be
pursued further. No reason was given for this refusal to discuss it but it has been said that FIFA are not in favour, as they want the game to be played to the same laws wherever it is played.
In professional football, or indeed anywhere that there is a fourth official, the control of the ‘sin bin’ and the timing of players in and out, could easily be monitored. However it is considered that referees in local football, where they only have club assistants (if any), would not be able to cope with the extra timekeeping and control that this would require.
Strange however that in small aside football, not only is the sin-bin allowed but actually encouraged. The only time it should not be used, we are told, is when there is no facility for the suspended player to remain within view and control of the referee. I refereed in a tournament recently at Fareham, where the sin-bin was in use. Happily I had no need for the blue card, (replacing the yellow card) but one of my fellow referees from Dorset, told me that he referees regularly in a competition in Poole where it’s used. In his opinion, it makes a great deal of difference to the behaviour of the players. Although the suspension was only for two minutes, with the short time span of indoor matches it could severely handicap a team and peer pressure on players kept misconduct, particularly dissent, down to a minimum.
For newcomers to the column, let me explain that the International Football Association Board is composed of the Football Association, The Scottish Football Association, The Football Association of Wales, The Irish Football Association (Northern Ireland) and FIFA. Each British association has one vote apiece while FIFA, which represents the 204 other member associations, has four. The Board meets once a year to consider any proposals for changing the laws and this year meeting in February was held in Newcastle, in Northern Ireland. A three-quarter majority is required for any proposal to be passed, so it can be seen that in effect FIFA have the veto over any changes.
It makes you wonder if FIFA has an aversion to any suggested change that may be copied from rugby. Last year they refused to sanction any more trials with goal line technology which of course rugby uses and some time before, they wouldn’t vote for the one law from rugby that most referees would welcome. This is where if a player dissents a decision at a free kick, or doesn’t retreat the required distance, the referee simply picks up the ball and moves the kick forward ten yards.
Dick Sawdon Smith
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© R Sawdon Smith 2009