FIFA rejected the possibility ofimplement the blue cardidea of International Football Association Board (IFAB), the body responsible for football rules, as a way of curbing so-called “tactical fouls” and trying to reduce athletes’ complaints regarding refereeing decisions.
In an interview with Sky Sports British, Gianni Infantino, president of the largest world football organization, mocked the chance and stated that the organization is not thinking about implementing the idea in world football.
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“Blue cards? That’s not even a topic. FIFA is completely opposed. Do you want a title? Red card to blue cards… No way, there’s no chance”, he said.
“We are always open to proposals, but after some analysis we also have to protect the game, its essence and tradition. No blue card”, he added.
Shortly after the IFAB idea became public, some coaches began to speak out against the idea. One of them was Jurgen Klopp, from Liverpool.
In February, in a press conference for the Reds, the German criticized IFAB and mockedsaying he can’t remember the last time the agency had a good idea.
“I think the introduction of a new card would also give more opportunity to fail, because the argument will be ‘was it a blue card, should it be a yellow card, now he’s 10 minutes out, in the old days it would have been a red card or just a yellow’. Whatever it is. That kind of thing just makes things more complicated. I want to test it. I have no problem with testing. But that’s the first step in agreeing or already being sure that it will happen. But I don’t know, to be honest, I have no idea if this is the first time about this,” he began by saying.
“It doesn’t seem like a fantastic idea to me right away. But the truth is, I can’t remember that these people had a fantastic idea. If they ever had one,” he concluded.