Football
ESPN staff 10y

UEFA president Michel Platini wants white cards, sinbins to punish dissent

Michel Platini has called for the introduction of sin bins and white cards for players who express dissent towards officials, the UEFA president revealed at the launch of his book "Parlons Football" on Thursday.

The UEFA president is eager to review some of the traditional concepts of modern football and has presented a number of measures which he is convinced will improve the quality of the game.

Platini is a strict advocate of UEFA's respect campaign and believes that white cards should be introduced as a punishment to the "veritable epidemic" of dissent, according to AFP.

He suggests sinbinning players for 10 minutes if they speak back aggressively towards a referee, an action which he hopes will restore harmony and respect to the game.

However, the white card "should not be confused in any way with the yellow card, which for its part is dedicated to fouls within the game."

The Frenchman also stated he wanted to permit five substitutions during a match with "two changes at half-time while maintaining the possibility to make three more during the course of the match." 

Another of Platini's suggestions is to abolish the so-called concept of "triple punishment" where the last defender is sent off if denying a clear goalscoring opportunity inside the penalty area.

The UEFA president feels that "double punishment" -- a yellow card and penalty inside the area or a red card and free kick outside the area -- would be more appropriate justice.

Meanwhile, Malaga owner Abdullah Al-Thani has called for Platini to resign over his management of financial fair play (FFP).

The Qatari Sheik, who bought Malaga in 2010, initially spent lavishly in an attempt to turn the side into a La Liga force, and he saw a return on his investment as they finished fourth in 2011-12 to qualify for the Champions League.

However, last season, Malaga were told by UEFA they would be suspended from the next European competition they qualify for following their infringement of FFP regulations.

During a social media conference with Malaga fans, Al-Thani, 45, who is a cousin of Paris Saint-Germain's owner, the reigning emir of Qatar, called on Platini to quit due to flaws in the newly-introduced system.

"If UEFA really wants 'fair play,' but they can't organise it in a fair and equitable manner, the UEFA president should resign," he said.

On Monday, Platini held round-table talks with a host of powerful European clubs, including PSG, to discuss potential changes to the FFP rules.

ESPN correspondent Ian Holyman contributed to this report.

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