The new season is almost upon us, and if you have players in the U11 to U18 age group, there’s a big rule change coming in - temporary dismissals – or ‘sin bins’ – are being introduced to clamp down on dissent.
The sin bin has been introduced for all levels of grassroots football, including youth, veterans, and disability, and will be implemented up to Step 5 of the National League System and Tier 3 and below in women's football.
Here’s all you need to know.
Why are players put in the sin bin?
The sin bin has been introduced to help referees stamp out instances of dissent and use of words or gestures which question or undermine the referee’s decisions, including:
Foul and abusive language is still a red card offence – so no swearing at all!
To be on the safe side, make it clear that players can’t talk back to the referee under any circumstances. If they have a grievance, let the manager know and he can pick it up with the ref in a calm and reasonable way – managers can’t go around shouting the odds in place of the players!
How long does a temporary sin bin dismissal last?
For matches of 90 minutes, players will spend 10 minutes in the sin bin.
For matches of all other lengths, players will spend eight minutes in the sin bin.
If the sin bin period hasn’t expired by the end of:
How will sin bins work during a match?
If a player commits any of the offences listed above, the following will take place:
It’s also important to note the following sin bin rules:
For more info, check out this video, or go to http://www.thefa.com/get-involved/respect/sin-bins