Sin bins are the answer to tackling dissent among players, the boss of a referees’ welfare charity has said.
Sin bins have been deemed a success in the grassroots game and details of a trial to test them at higher levels of football for dissent as well as tactical fouls were set to be published by the International Football Association Board, which sets football’s laws, last Friday.
Publication was indefinitely delayed at the last minute however, with sources citing the need for further discussion to take place at next month’s IFAB annual general meeting. The delay followed reports last Thursday evening which highlighted that blue cards would be used to send players to the sin bin.
The idea of trialling sin bins was heavily criticised by Tottenham and Liverpool bosses Ange Postecoglou and Jurgen Klopp among others last week.
However, Martin Cassidy, the chief executive of the Ref Support charity, believes the IFAB deserves credit for trying to address the problem, and hit out at the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) and the League Managers’ Association (LMA) for failing to condemn bad behaviour from their members.
“I think the sin bin is the answer. Absolutely. There’s a proven track record,” he told the PA news agency, pointing out that Football Association trials at grassroots level in 2017-18 and 2018-19 saw a 38 per cent reduction in dissent.
“You can’t throw stones at the IFAB and the FA for bringing in measures to address poor behaviour in the game,” Cassidy added.
“The main people they are trying to control are the players and the managers, when the PFA and the LMA only seem to want to talk about what makes the experience better for their members, and not the match official.
“The hypocrisy by those two organisations is breathtaking, when they put their name to that charter (Love Football, Protect The Game) at the start of the season.
“What have they done publicly to condemn the behaviour of their members over the years? The answer is zero. They’re sitting on the sidelines, metaphorically and physically, doing absolutely nothing.”
The PFA and the LMA have been approached for comment.
Cassidy also said that blue cards were “the best way to communicate” that a player had been temporarily dismissed at higher levels of football, with yellow cards used at grassroots level.
Protocols for trials allowing referees to create captain-only zones and cooling-off areas in the event of mass confrontations were also set to be published on Friday.
Cassidy also welcomed those measures, adding: “I’m all for it. When Aleksandar Mitrovic pushed Chris Kavanagh, I said we should have a two-metre zone around an official.
“There is no reason to go within two metres of a match official other than to shake their hand at the beginning and the end of the game. We should create boundaries with officials.
“This problem has been going on for decades and never been addressed. Just have an agreement where you don’t go within a certain place, and let’s say two metres.
“We’re used to two metres with Covid – why would you not want that in football? Then everybody knows anyone who comes in will be sanctioned.”
Chelsea quartet left at home as Bompastor rotates squad for Celtic clash
Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor has said that they will be without four key players ahead of their Champions League game away to Celtic on Wednesday.
Bompastor confirmed that Millie Bright, Mayra Ramirez, Sjoeke Nusken and Kadeisha Buchanan have not travelled to Scotland for their encounter at Celtic Park.
The Blues know a victory will seal their progression to the knockout stages, though have decided to rest a few of their key players during a hectic fixture schedule.
Their trip to Scotland will be the second of three matches inside seven days in all competitions for Bompastor's side and, as a result, she has decided to rotate her squad.
"The squad is in a good place and we have a good dynamic and we are full of confidence," she told a press conference
"We have been playing a lot of games and this week we play three games so it’s important to manage players as individuals.
“We have some players who didn’t travel for this game. Kadeisha Buchanan, Millie Bright, Sjoeke Nusken and Mayra Ramirez didn’t travel."
Chelsea come into the game with a 100% record in all competitions under Bompastor, including two wins from two against Real Madrid and Twente in the Champions League.
And they will be confident of maintaining their perfect run, having lost just one of their previous 20 group stage matches in the competition (W14 D5) and are unbeaten across their last 14 (W11 D3).
“As you know, Chelsea have a good squad with quality and a good team will start the game and be competitive because we want to finish first in this group," she said.
Their early-season form has them second in the Women's Super League and top of their Champions League group, at least three points ahead of any other team.
Despite resting players, Bompastor reassured people that it was Chelsea's ambition to fight on all fronts.
“The Champions League is important and we have ambition and we want to make sure we finish first in the group," she said.
“We have ambitions and if we want to go for all the competitions then you need to beat every team.
“It will start again in March and that’s when the really important games start, but right now we are focused on the group stage.”
Al-Riyadh 0-1 Al-Nassr: Mane hands visitors bragging rights
Sadio Mane's first-half strike ensured Al-Nassr maintained their unbeaten start to the Saudi Pro League season with a 1-0 win over rivals Al-Riyadh.
He smartly finished from close range in the 41st minute, with his goal enough to seal the three points and move Al-Nassr up to third in the table.
Al-Nassr's threat grew as the first half went on, with Milan Borjan making a fine double stop to deny Ronaldo and Talisca once again before Mohamed Simakan struck the post on the rebound.
Mane would eventually break the deadlock in the 41st minute though, darting in front of his marker to meet Abdulrahman Ghareeb's low cross and rifle it into the roof of the net.
The Senegalese striker arguably should have doubled his tally before the break, but was denied by Borjan's stretching save when one-on-one with the Canadian.
Talisca should have wrapped up the points in the final three minutes, but he blazed over an empty net from close range, before having a late goal disallowed for offside.
Data Debrief: Derby delight for Al-Nassr
After drawing their last two matches, this win was a welcome result for Al-Nassr as they racked up their sixth victory of the season to close the gap at the top of the table to six points.
It is just the second time Al-Nassr have avoided defeat in their first 10 matches of a Pro League campaign, last doing so in 2013-14, when they won the league title.
They are now unbeaten in their last seven Pro League derbies (W4 D3), their longest such streak since a run of nine between 2018 and 2020.
This is the first time in eight such games that they have kept a clean sheet though, and limited their opponents to just five shots throughout.
Al-Hilal 3-1 Al-Ettifaq: Champions return to the summit with dominant win
Al-Hilal surged back to the Saudi Pro League summit with a convincing 3-1 triumph over 10-man Al-Ettifaq on Friday.
The defending champions are now one point clear of Al-Ittihad in the standings, with their latest victory piling more misery on Al-Ettifaq boss, Steven Gerrard.
Al-Hilal struggled in the early exchanges at the Kingdom Arena, registering their first effort on Marek Rodak's goal in the 38th minute courtesy of Marcos Leonardo.
But the hosts would take the lead in the second minute of first-half stoppage time, with Mitrovic on hand to steer Renan Lodi's delivery into the net from close range.
Al-Hilal then doubled their advantage nine minutes from time when Malcolm collected the ball from Abdullah Al Hamddan, before rounding Rodak and finishing into an empty net.
However, hopes of a comeback from the visitors were revived in second-half stoppage time when Joao Cancelo gave away a penalty after a handball inside the box.
Vitinho stepped up and fired home the spot-kick, but Al-Hilal confirmed the win two minutes later through Mohammed Al Qahtani, with visiting forward Abdullah Radif shown a late red card for violent conduct.
Data Debrief: Happy Friday!
Al-Hilal continued their quest for a 20th Saudi Pro League crown with a dominant display against Al-Ettifaq, extending their unbeaten run against their opponents in the process.
They have now not lost their last 13 league encounters against Al-Ettifaq (W12 D1), surpassing their longest unbeaten streak against them in the competition (12 matches between 2008 and 2013 - W8 D4).
Al-Hilal have now lost only three matches when hosting teams on a Friday in the Pro League out of 55 matches (W46 D6 L3).
Lodi also took his goal contribution tally to eight this season in all competitions (three goals, five assists). During his European career with three different clubs, he only notched more goal involvements (nine) in the 2021-22 campaign with Atletico Madrid.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
