With the current Laws, and only two card types (red and yellow), beyond a "stern talking to" which appears to have little effect (as witnessed by Dallas fans watching Valderamma and Maestro in the recent playoff series), discipline may only be allocated in one of four methods: 1. single yellow 2. first yellow + second yellow = red 3. first yellow + straight red 4. straight red Thus, 75% of the discipline options result in a sending off. Limiting the "arrows in the quiver" for a referee prevents him/her from taking in to account all the subtle nuances and degrees of transgression in each and every foul. Is it not time for a more extensive, expanded system of discipline cards? If we remember our grade-school crib sheet, ROY G. BIV is the acronym for the electromagnetic spectrum: Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet Here in the states, the idea of showing a player a "green card" has a double entendre, but only here in the states would that be a problem. However, on TV yellow and orange look too similar, as do orange and red. So the ideal solution would be to "skip" orange, green, and indigo, and then have a four-card system as follows: Red Yellow Blue (Sky Blue or Aqua as opposed to Navy) Violet (Lavender as opposed to Deep Purple) A potential accumulation schema: 1 Red = 2 Yellow 1 Yellow = 2 Blue 1 Blue = 2 Violet Another way to think about it is you get ejected with 8 discipline points in a game. Red = 8 pts Yellow = 4 pts Blue = 2 pts Violet = 1 pt Thus, 8 "violets" equals a red. Yes, this will slow down the game somewhat. But it would also allow the referrees greater autonomy to meter out discipline, and allow a much greater variance in level of discipline metered out given the severity of each situation. I forsee various mandates, like every instance of verbal abuse equals a Violet card, regardless of any other circumstances. Failure to immediately adhere to the 10-yard rule on free kicks results in a Violet card. Handballs in the box, like the one by Ryan Suarez of the Burn v. Metro, could be properly graded with a blue instead of a red as there was zero intent, and the only reason the handball occurred was because Suarez was attempting to shield his face from the oncoming shot. Remember the Warzycha handball at the end of a game two years ago? That's a red card: upright, and arm extended. Final corrolary: Torsten Frings on the goalline? Yellow, upright, but arm not extended. Dangerous play could be graded on severity. Tackles from behind could be graded on severity. -bs
I must say that the idea of an extra card intrigues me. It would make getting a yellow card less random because a ref could give 4 or 3 cards before sending a player off. Maybe this would make it easier for a ref to hand out cards to show that he means business.
How about some "Thank you" cards for all the players who behave correctly? That way we can get Hallmark as a sponsor. Gee!!! We've got too much time in our hands....
There was a show i was watching on saturday that mentioned the idea of sin-bins being brought into the game. it would mean less game bans from red cards, which had been gained through two silly red cards. when beckham got yellow carded V macedonia for jumping in front of the throw-in. silly! if he gets another yellow card he gets a one match suspension. it seems stupid that by jumping in front of a throw-in twice, for example, would get you a game ban. i like the idea but fear that it would be the beginning of the "americanisation" of the game. personally, i do like the idea of about 4 cards being dealt out by the ref though i'm not too ken on a purple or pink card. you could have different shapes of cards too, though this may be too difficult for people to work out which card was being shown. i say, red, yellow, white and blue.
As an official, I think 4 cards are to many. Out on the field, if we have 4 cards, and 8 points, we have to worry about insantly remembering what card we gave to whom. It is easy to sit on the sidelines and remeber who has a blue and who has a yellow. Out on the field, we have to listen to the game and watch the movements. And we can't exactly pull out our note pad ever 10 minutes for a refresher. All of this negates where we'd put those extra cards. That being said, I think a 3 card system is much better, for simplicity: 2 Blues=1 yellow 2 yellows=1 red blue = 1pt yellow = 2pts red = 4pts or more There are definately reasons for direct send offs, but mostly, we need to call the game to our judgement. Dictating that a player should be given a blue for standing in front a free kick, for example, removes judgement from an offiical. We already have the discresion to move the ball 10yards forward in that case. But is the same card given to a player in the defensive third as just out side the penalty area? On a first time occurance, is either worthy of a blue or yellow? With laws passed dictating how a minor infraction is carded, judgement is ever so more removed from the game.
This would never work. 4 different colored cards? Do you realize how slow the game would go not to mention how complicated it would get? Heck, even the players who got the cards would start forgetting how many "points" they have. I'm sorry, but this is such an American idea and I'm American myself. Football is "the world's game" remember. It's supposed to be a simple game. Plus, are refs throwing out red cards all the time in matches? At most I'd see maybe 3 or 4 reds in a match and that's pushing it. If there were 4 different colored cards, almost every foul would have a card to go along with it. Basically what I'm saying is that if a person gets a direct red card or gets 2 yellow cards in one match he probably deserved to be sent off. Overall, this would totally slow down the game and make the game very unenjoyable to watch as the strategy of players would be totally altered.
How about a black card, where the opposing team gets to pummel the offender without consequence for the next 10 minutes?
How about getting rid of cards entirely and giving the CR a tool belt? He could carry a tape measure, for measuring 10 yards on free kicks, staple gun to keep the GK on his line for PKs, a cattle prod to replace the yellow (and keeping the wall back), a tazer instead of a red card, tampons for those found guilty of simulation...
This might work too... Seriously, the only thing I can think of that would come out of having for cards is that Jimmy Conrad wouldn't be suspended so much.
While I think the current card system is fine, I'm a bit confused by this post. Why would you need to remember who has what cards? When you book a player, you need to make a note of it anyway. So when you pull out your notebook, you can see how many cards/points the player has and send off or not accordingly. Hang on a minute, you're not suggesting that whether a player has a card or not influences your judgement when you see another infraction later in the game are you?!? Surely each offence deserves to be judged on its own merits? If this is the case, this is the kind of thing that drives fans nuts. If you can make a bad tackle and get booked for it, but someone who already has a yellow card can get away with the same tackle because they've already been booked then it's just plain not fair. This kind of inconsistency is criticised by fans, TV presenters and analysers, managers and players. Referees are making a rod for their own backs by perpetuating this kind of thing.
First although it's correct to saw that 75% of card combonations involve a send off, IMHO it is not correct to say that 75% of discipline options result in a red. I think that we need to realize what a yellow card actually is. It is a "Caution", and basically tells a player that if he keeps up with his cheating he will be kicked out of the game. It's like telling a child to not steal cookies once, and then if he does it again you punish him. So if we add a card level before the Caution(yellow) we'd in essence be cautioning the caution. That's too much in my opinion. Anyway, there's already a penalty for offenses that don't deserve a Caution and those are free kicks. Free kicks are your third card, and the game of soccer does not need anything else.