FIFA has hit out at ‘incorrect and premature’ reports regarding the immediate use of blue cards in elite football competition.
Reports emerged on Friday that the International Football Association Board (Ifab) had signed off on the trials, with an official announcement due on Friday (today).
It would be the first time since the introduction of the classic yellow and red cards at the 1970 World Cup that a new card would be used in football.
However, following an immediate backlash to the plans, FIFA has now released a statement clarifying their intentions.
The world’s football governing body played down the likelihood of seeing them introduced in elite football any time soon.
“FIFA wishes to clarify that reports of the so-called ‘blue card’ at elite levels of football are incorrect and premature,” the statement partly read.
“Any such trials, if implemented, should be limited to testing in a responsible manner at lower levels, a position that FIFA intends to reiterate when this agenda item is discussed at the IFAB AGM on 2 March.”