International football association board 4 guidelines

The International Football Association Board 4
Guidelines for Temporary dismissals (sin bins)
The 131st AGM of The IFAB held in London on 3rd March 2017 approved the use of
temporary dismissals (sin bins) for all or some cautions/yellow cards (YCs) in youth,
veterans, disability and grassroots football, subject to the approval of the competition’s
national FA, confederation or FIFA, whichever is appropriate.
Reference to temporary dismissals is found in the Laws of the Game 2017/18:
Law 5 – The Referee (Powers and duties):
Disciplinary action
The referee:
• has the power to show yellow or red cards and, where competition rules permit,
temporarily dismiss a player, from entering the field at the start of the match until after
the match has ended, including during the half-time interval, extra time and kicks from
the penalty mark
A temporary dismissal is when a player commits a cautionable (YC) offence and is punished
by an immediate ‘suspension’ from participating in the next part of that match. The
philosophy is that an ‘instant punishment’ can have a significant and immediate positive
influence on the behaviour of the offending player and, potentially, the player’s team.
The national FA, confederation or FIFA, should approve (for publication in the competition
rules) a temporary dismissal protocol within the following guidelines:
Players only
• Temporary dismissals apply to all players (including goalkeepers) but not for
cautionable offences (YCs) committed by a substitute or substituted player
Referee’s signal
• The referee will indicate a temporary dismissal by showing a yellow card (YC) and then
clearly pointing with both arms to the temporary dismissal area (usually the player’s
technical area)
The temporary dismissal period
• The length of the temporary dismissal is the same for all offences
• The length of the temporary dismissal should be between 10-15% of the total playing
time (e.g. 10 minutes in a 90-minute match; 8 minutes in an 80-minute match)
• The temporary dismissal period begins when play restarts after the player has left the
field of play