Published: 26 April, 2012
by STEVE BARNETT

WITH most of the footballing world calling for the introduction of video technology, Arsene Wenger has gone a step further by suggesting the game would benefit from a more radical change.

The Arsenal manager believes that football should follow the lead of sports such as rugby and ice hockey by bringing in a sin bin instead of just dishing out yellow and red cards.

“A sin bin is worth thinking about in my opinion,” Wenger revealed in the monthly Arsenal Magazine.

“Sometimes you see a guy is on the fringes of his temper, on a moody day.

Maybe if the referee can take him out for 10 minutes – like in rugby – then it would be a chance for the manager to tell him to calm down, focus on his game.

“That would be better in the long run,” The Frenchman added.

Wenger also said that this form of “instant punishment” would benefit the team on the receiving end of an offence much more than the current system does.

“There are other advantages too. For example, at the moment if a guy gets a second yellow he’s suspended for the next game. But he might be facing Man United in his next game, so they have an advantage; yet the team that he fouled against on the day has no advantage.

“On top of that, they are at a disadvantage because one of their rivals has benefited. So sometimes you think ‘where is the logic?’

“It would be better to take the punishment on the day and give the advantage to the team that has been offended against. That’s why the sin bin is more logical for an immediate punishment.”