Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou has warned any proposal to introduce blue cards and sin bins will destroy football.
It was revealed on Thursday that a trial could commence soon where a blue card would be shown for dissent and professional fouls where the offenders would be sin binned for 10 minutes.
FIFA has since clarified the trial will not occur in elite football, while football’s lawmakers, the International Football Association Board, will not publish plans for the sin bin trial until next month.
However, Postecoglou was unequivocal in his belief it would be a wrong move.
“One team being down to 10 men for 10 minutes, you know what it’s going to do to our game? It’s going to destroy it, mate,” Postecoglou insisted.
“You’re going to have one team just sitting there trying to waste time for 10 minutes waiting for a guy to come on.
“Every other sport is trying to declutter. All we’re trying to do is go the other way for some bizarre reason.”
Postecoglou talked at length about the laws of the game ahead of Saturday’s visit of Brighton.
The Spurs boss defended goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, who conceded from another corner during last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Everton.
Vicario failed to deal with Dwight McNeil’s delivery into his six-yard area while under pressure from Jack Harrison, which was also the case in the 1-0 loss to Manchester City last month.
Ruben Dias crowded round Vicario on that occasion from a Kevin De Bruyne corner and the Tottenham goalkeeper’s flap resulted in Nathan Ake scoring.
Spurs have written to Professional Game Match Officials Limited this week to get clarification over why both goals have not fallen under the bracket of encroachment.
“We have sent some stuff to get some clarification,” Postecoglou revealed.
“I’m going to get called out for this, but there was a thing that was quite evident in the game that the goalkeeper was a protected species. I don’t think that’s just me making that up.
“The reason people used to say that was that if you really impeded a goalkeeper in any way in the six-yard box, you are going to get a foul. I knew that as a player, I knew that as a manager.
“I think there’s been a shift there where now to me, it’s obstruction.
“If you’re standing in front of a goalkeeper stopping him before a ball has even arrived, in layman’s terms that’s obstruction.
“With the goalkeepers, what’s that going to do now? Well, it’s pretty much opened it up that you can surround the goalkeeper and crowd him and put balls on top of him and just wait for the scramble to finish and see what happens.
“I was really proud of Vic the other day. I think they had nine corners after we conceded and I think he dealt with just about every other one by coming out and actually having a crack at it
“I can’t praise him highly enough over the way he handled it.
“And the whole thing where people say, ‘you’ve got to be stronger’, well, what does that mean?
“If he pushes or does anything to a player, with VAR, you’ve got no chance. You’re going to get a penalty against you.”
Tottenham have captain Son Heung-min back for the visit of Brighton and Postecoglou will hope his presence can boost their unlikely title bid.
Opta Analyst this week claimed Spurs have a 0.1 per cent chance of winning the Premier League this season.
“What did it say, 0.1 per cent? So we (have) got a chance then. Let’s go for it. No problems, no issues with that. We’ve got a chance,” Postecoglou smiled.
Man Utd decision was 'now or never' for Amorim
Ruben Amorim says the decision to move to Manchester United during the season was made for him, after he was told it was "now or never".
The 39-year-old Sporting Lisbon coach is set to make the move to Manchester on November 11, despite wanting to wait until the end of the season to make the switch.
The move was announced on Friday, with Amorim agreeing on a contract that will keep him at the club until 2027.
He becomes the sixth permanent manager at United since Alex Ferguson's departure 11 years ago.
Sporting have made a flying start to the season with 10 wins from 10 putting them top of the Primeira Liga table, but Amorim was keen to attest he would have preferred to continue his victorious streak.
"The season started, we started very well, and then Manchester United came, they pay above the compensation clause and the president defends the club's interests," he explained.
"I never discussed anything with the president. For three days, I said I wanted to stay until the end of the season, but then I was told it was not possible.
"It was now or never, or Manchester would go for another option. So, I had three days to make my mind up, to make a decision that radically changes my life."
Amorim brought substantial success to the Portuguese capital, winning two league titles in the space of four seasons after the club had failed to do so in the 19 years prior.
Despite being one of the most promising coaches in the game, the Lisbon-born manager asserted that only a call from Manchester would persuade him to leave his home club.
"I've had other opportunities - the president and [director of football] Hugo Viana can confirm this," he added. "It's not the first or the second time that I have been requested by another team, and I don't want another team.
"After Sporting I wanted that one, Manchester, and I want that context because that context allows me to do things my way, and the club believes me that way.
"There's a time when I have to take a step forward in my career. That's what happened. It was harder for me than any Sporting fan, believe me, but I had to do this."
Newcastle United 1-0 Arsenal: Isak header dents Gunners' title bid
Alexander Isak headed Newcastle United to their first Premier League win in five games as they beat Arsenal 1-0 to dent the Gunners’ title hopes.
The decisive moment came in the 12th minute when Isak combined with Anthony Gordon, heading the ball into the roof of the net to continue his fine form at St. James’ Park.
Arsenal rarely threatened throughout, registering just one shot on target, which came in the first half when Mikel Merino saw his effort blocked on the line by Lewis Hall.
Isak threatened a second for the hosts on the hour mark, but his attempt stung the palms of David Raya, while Declan Rice’s deflected strike narrowly evaded the far post just under a minute later.
The win moved Newcastle into eighth place in the table, while Arsenal remain third but could find themselves eight points off the top should Manchester City beat Bournemouth later on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Alexander the Great
Having marked his return from a toe injury with two goals in as many games, Isak's return to form for Newcastle is a welcome boost for Eddie Howe.
The Swede has now scored in three successive appearances in all competitions for Newcastle for the first time since January last season, and has been directly involved in 18 goals in his last 17 Premier League starts at St. James’ Park (16 goals, two assists).
Isak's header also saw the Magpies claim a third win in their last four Premier League home games against Arsenal (L1), as many as their previous 23 beforehand (W3 D8 L12).
For Arsenal, meanwhile, their poor run continued. After losing just one of their first 25 Premier League games in 2024 (W21 D3), they have since lost two of their last three (D1).
The Gunners have also now lost successive away matches in the league for the first time since May 2022.
T&T's captain David, striker Garcia welcome Yorke's appointment as Soca Warriors Head coach
Trinidad and Tobago’s captain Aubrey David and Greece-based striker Levi Garcia welcomed the appointment of former player Dwight Yorke as the new senior Soca Warriors Head coach.
Both David and Garcia believe Yorke’s appointment augurs well for the future of the Soca Warriors setup, as both pointed to his experience and knowledge of the game as key components to nurture young talent and, by extension, drive development.
“I’m excited about Dwight Yorke’s appointment. His experience and knowledge of the game would be a massive plus for us. He has played at the highest level and led our country to our first World Cup, so he surely knows what it takes to get us there again,” Guatemala-based defender David stated.
“I am very hopeful that his leadership will inspire a new era of success and development in Trinidad and Tobago football,” he added.
Garcia echoed similar sentiments, while pointing to the fact that the former Manchester United star also have huge task of qualifying the Twin Island Republic to the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup.
“I wish him all the best. I think he can get the job done. I really and truly believe that with the experience that he has had, and all that he has done, hopefully it could work out with his coaching career, and we could come together as one and give the country that boost,” Garcia stated.
“Hopefully, he will be able to bring out the best not only in the team but in some of the youngsters to secure their future,” he noted.
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