Red Card Solution

Everyone is talking about Red Cards again since some horrendous calls this weekend that turned games.

The solution in filmed games is beyond simple: “replace” the Red Card with and Orange one. An Orange card is shown where the referee thinks he has seen a Red Card infringement and informs the crowd where the offence was caused and what it was for. Play resumes whilst video evidence is reviewed.

The referee is informed whether the Orange Card was really a Red or possibly just a Yellow Card. At the next halt of play the player is called (if necessary) and showed the Orange Card again (to remind the crowd) followed by the appropriate Red or Yellow.

The fact that the player might make a match winning move in the 2 or 3 minutes of waiting for a decision is far preferable to the wrong player being sent off for the remainder of a match.

Red Cards are then the exclusive control of a television referee unless the event was not caught on camera, under which circumstances the Orange does automatically become Red.