Fans can't believe what will happen if a goalkeeper is shown blue card under new referee rules

Goalkeepers will not be exempt from receiving blue cards under a controversial new rule.

Last week The Telegraph reported that football lawmakers IFAB had approved one the biggest refereeing changes in decades.

The proposed new rules will see players shown a blue card and sin-binned for 10 minutes for committing a cynical foul or showing dissent to officials.

Sin-bins are already in use in English grassroots football, but there has been significant pushback from clubs, players and FIFA towards the proposal.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has gone on record to say he is not supportive of sin-bins in football.

A fresh report from The Telegraph has claimed that goalkeepers will be able to receive blue cards, but that managers will not.

If a goalkeeper is shown a blue card then their team would be forced to choose between putting an outfield player in goal or making a permanent substitution.

The report states: "In the event a team does have a [goalkeeper] specialist on the bench, they are only allowed to bring that player on if they make a permanent change for an outfield player, and then only allowed to remove him or her via another permanent change.

"Should a team have already used up their substitutions, an outfield player would have to go in goal regardless – similar to when a keeper is sent off."

Perhaps surprisingly given the crackdown on dissent in recent years, managers and coaching staff will be exempt from receiving blue cards.

Managers will continue to receive yellow cards for showing dissent from the sidelines, or red for persistent dissent or more serious matters.

On social media, fans couldn't believe the news.

"What the hell am I reading," one baffled fan wrote on X, while another complained, "This update is trash, ruining football."

Another critic said: "This blue card thing is daft," while another feared that "With VAR, blue card, yellow card, red card, and injury, footballers will play less than 60 minutes out of 90 minutes because of the unnecessary delay."

Topics: FIFA, UEFA, VAR, Fan Reactions

Alex Brotherton

Alex Brotherton is a Sports Trends Writer at SPORTbible. He has previously worked with publications including the Manchester Evening News, GOAL and BBC Sport. He is a football fanatic, but also dabbles in tennis and American football. He enjoys running, cooking and watching non-league football.

@alex_brotherton