IFAB agree to trial 'rugby rule' in high level football that could massively change the game

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) has approved proposed trials for the introduction of sin bins to top level football.

The measure, which was supported on Tuesday at IFAB’s Annual Business Meeting in London, aims to improve participant behaviour in football and increase respect for officials.

It was agreed that sin bins "for dissent and specific tactical offences" would be trialled at higher levels following their successful implementation in grassroots football.

Sin bins have been seen as an effective way of tackling dissent at grassroots and youth level while they could also be used to punish tactical fouling in the new trials.

In practice, according to the Telegraph, the rugby-style measure would see an ‘orange card’ brandished for offences deemed worthy of greater punishment than a booking, but not quite meeting the threshold of a sending-off.

One incident in mind when proposing the sin bin measure is said to have been Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini’s shirt pull on England’s Bukayo Saka in the Euro 2020 final, which resulted in a yellow card only.

As per the proposal, players would be ordered off the pitch for ten minutes, as in rugby, where a player must spend ten minutes off the pitch in the sin bin area should they be brandished a yellow card.

IFAB has reportedly reached an agreement in principle to test the measure in elite competitions such as the Premier League, potentially as early as next season.

According to a Mail Online report, published before last weekend’s set of fixtures, West Ham's Lucas Paqueta, Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson and Newcastle midfielder Sean Longstaff have all received a Premier League-high three bookings for dissent this season.

They would all be at risk of frequent periods in the sin-bin should the proposal be introduced to the Premier League.

Meanwhile, there are nine different players, including Bruno Fernandes and James Maddison, that have been booked twice for talking back to match officials.

Elsewhere, the IFAB meeting saw a proposed trial where only the team captain can approach the referee "in certain major game situations" given the green light.

The Mail Online claimed IFAB also talked over potential strategies to stamp out time-wasting and ways to quicken the VAR process.

Furthermore, it was agreed that semi-automated offside technology will continue to assist on-field match officials in an effort to speed up decision-making.