The blue card is born, a new revolution in football

After yellow and red cards, a blue card will be introduced, which will result in players being suspended for 10 minutes if they commit dangerous fouls or react negatively to the referee.

On February 9th, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) will announce the start of testing the sea-blue card in some tournaments.

According to The Telegraph, IFAB - the research and development body for football rules - has approved the blue card. This will be the first new card in the sport since the introduction of yellow and red cards at the 1970 World Cup.

This revolutionary move will be announced by IFAB as part of the sin-bin protocol, where players will be sent off the field for 10 minutes if they commit dangerous fouls or show dissent to the referee.

Blue cards will be put to the test

"Sin-bin" is a concept originating from rugby to describe the punishment of a player being suspended from play for a certain period during a match.

The Football Association of Wales has planned to use the blue card in sin-bin experiments at grassroots tournaments this season. The initial idea was to use an orange card, but it was later replaced with a blue card to make a clear distinction from yellow or red cards.

However, in the end, the FAW could not pass the use of the blue card. Players sent off for a certain period still have to receive a yellow card.

IFAB's new regulations allow referees to issue a blue card for foul situations to prevent a potentially goal-scoring attack or an excessive reaction to the referee.

A player will receive a red card if he receives two blue cards in a match or one yellow card and one blue card.

The blue card trial will not immediately take place in high-level tournaments. However, IFAB does not rule out testing the new card in high-level tournaments shortly after the summer of 2024.

The FA Cup and FA Women's Cup, two longstanding football tournaments in England, are likely to be part of IFAB's blue card trial.

The blue card is unlikely to appear at EURO 2024 or the 2024/25 Champions League. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin previously asserted in The Telegraph last month that he completely opposed the blue card and added, "That's no longer football."

However, the European football governing body may be forced to introduce this new card if the experiments are added to the football rules.