Marco Verratti was shown a yellow card after referee used one of the rarest rules in football

Marco Verratti was shown a yellow card after the referee implemented one of the rarest rules in football.

This week it was controversially announced that football’s lawmakers IFAB are to trial sin-binning players and issuing blue cards.

Sin-bins have been used at the grassroots level for dissent but their use could be extended to cynical fouls. A player would be made to spend 10 minutes in the technical area after being brandished a blue card.

The announcement got us thinking about some of the more peculiar decisions made by a referee in top-level football.

Then-Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Verratti was once cautioned for an utterly bizarre reason back in a 2-0 over Nantes in 2017.

Verratti received the ball from goalkeeper Kevin Trapp, and in acres of space, the Italian elected to audaciously descend to his hands and knees and head the ball back to the shot-stopper.

Referee Johan Hamel subsequently halted play and booked Verratti, while also awarding Nantes an indirect free-kick.

The decision sparked confusion among the PSG ranks, but as per the letter of the law, Verratti's “deliberate trick” had broken the rules.

Here’s what IFAB have to say on the matter. The rules state: "No trickery may be used to get around the terms of the amendment to Law 12. A player may pass the ball to his own goalkeeper using his head, chest, knee, etc.

Verratti played for PSG between 2012 and 2023 (Getty)

"However, if, in the opinion of the referee, the player uses a deliberate trick - such as flicking the ball to his head with his foot and heading it to the goalkeeper or kneeling and deliberately pushing the ball to the goalkeeper with his head or knee - he must be cautioned for ungentlemanly conduct.

"It makes no difference whether or not the goalkeeper touches the ball with his hands; the offence is committed by the player who is seeking to circumvent both the Spirit and Letter of the Law."

While playing for Inter in a match against Roma, Ivan Perisic also fell foul of the same rule, having performed two kick-ups before heading the ball back to keeper Samir Handanovic.

Topics: Football, Marco Verratti, Paris Saint-Germain

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.