By Andrew Warshaw
February 28 – Two recent controversial Champions League dismissals have refocused attention on the so-called triple punishment – penalty , sending off and subsequent – that continues to cause so much consternation throughout the game. The rule, which has been hotly debated with referees applying different interpretations as to what constitutes a goal-scoring opportunity, comes up for discussion once again at the annual International FA Board meeting in Zurich on Saturday.
Manchester City and Arsenal both had a player red-carded after conceding penalties against Barcelona and Bayern Munich respectively last week. Both decisions effectively killed each game, the visitors going on to carve out healthy first-leg leads.
UEFA are anxious to have the rule amended and have asked football’s lawmakers to come up with a fairer and more consistent approach. That seems unlikely given that the item is listed on “any other business” as is the idea of sinbins as a less harsh sanction than a red card, and post-game video replays to decide whether retrospective action is needed for incidents not seen by the officials.
One innovation which could be introduced is a ban on players displaying personal messages and slogans on under-shirts.
This has been proposed by the English FA though some might accuse them of being somewhat churlish towards what is often a harmless exercise by players to pay their respects to family, friends and important global figures or to flag up a humanitarian issue.
But FA general secretary Alex Horne rejects the accusation that his organisation are being killjoys. “There are lots of grey lines around what’s acceptable and what’s not acceptable,” he was quoted as saying.
“At the moment the rules are vague and what this would do is enable the rule to be applied consistently. We think it is worth tidying up and then it is up to competition organisers how they want to apply it.”
IFAB will also consider introducing rolling substitutions – coming on and off the field in the same game – in amateur football to encourage more people to take up the sport recreationally.
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