A blue card will be introduced into professional football as part of sin-bin testing, marking the first new widely used card color in 50 years.
According to The Telegraph, the International Football Association’s International Board will announce the revolutionary measure on Friday as part of new measures that will ban players from the game for 10 minutes if they commit a cynical foul or show disagreement with a match referee.
The protocols will add a new aspect to sending offs, as players would now be sent off if they receive two blue cards in a game or a combination of one blue and one yellow.
The report goes on to say that elite testing could begin as soon as the summer, although top-level competition will be excluded from the initial testing.
As a result, FA Cup and Women’s FA Cup matches can be included in the trials and the FA is reportedly considering voluntarily offering next season’s competitions for trials.
Blue cards have been used this season during a no-bin trial in grassroots football in Wales, with the color chosen to clearly differentiate them from a yellow or red card.
The introduction of new cards has already occurred on a smaller scale on the continent: Portugal recently adopted a new measure to recognize good sportsmanship.
In October last year, a Portuguese player from the fifth division was believed to be the first to receive a white card in the men’s card after passing up a scoring opportunity after an opposing defender gave the ball away on the edge of his own penalty area and immediately fell injured and in a lot of pain.
The attacker quickly realized that the defender was seriously injured and moved away from the goal before kicking the ball for a throw-in so he could receive treatment.
The sporting gesture was applauded by the fans present and quickly recognized by the referee who approached the player and showed him the white card.