Fans divided as referees set to be handed revolutionary blue cards which could be used in FA Cup next year

Football is set to introduce a revolutionary blue card as an added disciplinary measure in matches.

Current rules allow referees to hand out a yellow card as a warning, with two yellow cards equating to a red card, sending the player off.

However the International Football Association Board will now partake in sin-bin trials, with a blue card resulting in a player being removed from play for ten minutes.

This punishment would come into effect if a player was to commit a cynical foul or show dissent towards a match official.

Similar to a yellow card, the new rules would see two blue cards equal a red card, with a combination of a blue and a yellow card also seeing a player sent off.

Trials of the new punishment could begin as early as this summer, with FA Cup and Women's FA Cup matches a potential platform for blue cards to be used.

Top-tier competitions, including the Premier League and WSL, will be excluded from initial testing.

As you'd expect, supporters had some pretty strong views on the rule change.

YouTuber and talkSPORT host Mark Goldbridge posted on X: "Blue card to be trialled in between yellow and red card in football. God help us.

"They can't even get their heads around what's a yellow and red... why are people obsessed with fixing things that aren't broken?"

One fan wrote: "Good grief. When will they realise that nobody is asking for this."

Another said: "They try to improve the game when they need to improve refs."

A third fan commented: "So now the referees can pick and choose what cynical fouls are? Let’s make a job that they already can’t do even more confusing shall we!"

Meanwhile a fourth supporter said: "What is this ridiculous obsession with constantly trying to change football. So sick of it1"