Get here some information about the white cards in football. We are here with why white cards should be implemented in football. Get here some introduction to the white card in football, the most famous game in the world. Do you know why the white card is used in the game? Do you know what are the reasons to be implemented in football?

White Card in Football: Why It Is Implemented in Game

1. Introduction to the Football
2. Football in Nepal
3. Requirements for the Game
4. Football Ground
5. Height of the Goal Post
6. Methods of Playing Football

7. Major Rules of the Football Game
8. introduction of white card in football
9. Uses of the white card in football
10. Interference with the other cards
11. Possible results of implementing the white card

1. Introduction to the Football

Football is one of the most popular games throughout the world. It is also called Soccer. It is a team game. It needs open space and a ball. Although it is a game played with the legs, yet it requires skills and techniques. It needs a great deal of practice and stamina. In addition, it needs great coordination and understanding as it is a group game.

It has been believed that some kind of football was part of man’s life in primitive days. So, even if there are no records, historically this game was supposed to have been played by the Chinese by the name of ‘Tsuchu’, whereas the Romans played it by the name of ‘Harpaston’. The Greeks played it by the name of ‘Episkyros’. Later, this game was found to have been played by the Roman army around 40 A.D. and fostered football as a part of their military training. Still later, the game was officially played at Derby in England in 217 A.D. and thus modem game of football emerged in England.

In the beginning, the game was played by the villagers, married or unmarried people. As time passed, rules and regulations were developed. An attempt was made by Thring and Dewinton to frame a uniform set of rules but Thring could succeed in doing so only after first trying them out for years. The first football rules were framed in 1862 and were revised in 1863. In 1863 A.D., a football association was established in London and the new rules of this game were framed in 1864. A football game was organized under the sponsorship of this organization. In the promotion of this game, the British army played an important role.

Football is a game that is widely followed by millions of people around the world. Current rules of the game include handball, red cards and yellow cards, offsides, free kicks and penalties. With an increasing range of technology in the past few years, goal-line technology was introduced in 2012 to prevent goals that were disallowed due to inaccuracy from the human eye. The goal-line technology has helped the referees, as well as the game, run smoothly.

2. Football in Nepal

In Nepal also, football was found to have been played by the army in 1920 A.D. during the Rana regime. After 2007 B.S. (1950 A.D.) the general public started playing the game and it became very popular since then.

3. Requirements for the Game

There are two teams of 11 players each. There may be 5 substitutes, but a team shall not be permitted to use more than 2 substitutes in any match.

4. Football Ground

A rectangular ground with the following dimensions;

Length 120-90 m.
Breadth 90-45 m.
In international matches,
Length 110- 100 m.
Breadth 75-64 m.

5. Height of the Goal Post:

The height of the goalpost is 2.44 m and the length is 7,32 m.

6. Methods of Playing Football

The game of football is played on a rectangular ground divided by the centre line into two halves. The goals are placed on the centre of the goal line at each end of the field and must consist of two upright posts 7.32 m apart and joined by a horizontal crossbar. The game of football is played between the two teams having eleven players in each. In each team, there will be one goalkeeper, five defence and five attack players.

At the beginning of the game, the choice of ends and the kick-off shall be decided by the toss of a coin. The team who wins the toss opts either to choose an end or to take the kick-off. The ball is kept in the centre circle. At last two players from the team take the kick-off and then position themselves behind the halfway line and inside the centre circle. At this point, each player must in addition remain outside the centre circle. The ball is placed in the centre spot and the game starts with the referee’s whistle.

The referee has given a signal, the game shall be started by a player taking a place-kick to his team-mate. The first kick must enter the opponent’s half. The kicker shall not play the ball a second time until it has been touched or placed by another payer. Thus the players try to dribble, kick and use various skills to shoot the ball to the opponent’s goalpost. In the meantime, the opponents try to prevent this by keeping the ball in their control. Both the teams try to score a goal. If one team succeeds in scoring the goal, the game is restarted from the centre circle by a player of the team losing the goal. During the game, if the ball goes out from the sideline, the game is restarted by a ‘throw-in’. If the ball goes out from the goal line, the game is restarted by kicking the ball from the ‘D-area’ one of the defence players, but if the ball goes out from the goal line and it is touched by the defending team, the game is restarted by the attacking team through the comer-kick. Thus the game is continued, and after half-time, the ends shall be changed and the kick-off shall be taken by a player of the opposite team to that of the player who started the game.

In this way, both teams try to score a goal. Thus, the game is played for two equal periods of 45 minutes each with an interval of 10 minutes. At last, the team scoring more goals is declared the winner. But in the case of a draw at the end of 90 minutes, the match is played for extra time having the duration of 15 minutes of each half. During the extra time, the team which scores more shall be declared the winner. If they draw again, both teams shall take five kicks alternatively.

7. Major Rules of the Football Game

The team that wins the toss can choose either the first kick or the side.
The whistle of the umpire or referee begins the game.
Having been given a signal by the referee, the game shall be started by a player taking a place kick into his opponent’s half of the field.
The kicker must not play the ball a second time until it has been touched or played by another player.
Players are not allowed to carry or wear any harmful objects that may injure other players.
The players have to stand in their respective places before the play starts. Once play begins, they can move around to any place but if play begins again, after a goal, etc., the players have to be in their places.
There is a referee and two linesmen on either side of the ground who supervise the
The ball is out of play when it crosses the goal line or the touch line whether the ball is on the ground or in the air. If the ball crosses the touchline, the opponents have to do throwing inside the ground.
A player is off-side when there is no player or players of the opponent team between him and the goal-post before he receives the ball. But if he is carrying the ball and dribbles or passes the players then it is not considered off-side. In the case of off side, defending players restart the game with a free kick on the signal of the referee.

If any player pushes, kicks, violently charge the opponent, holds, or charges the opponent from behind it is considered a foul.
If a player, except the goalkeeper, touches the ball with their hands, it will be considered a foul and is called a handball.
There are different kinds of kicks allowed to the opponent team as a punishment to the attacking team for any kind of foul. They are:

Free kick (direct kick): In this kind of kick, a goal can be scored directly.
Indirect kick: A goal cannot be scored directly. The ball has to be touched by a player other than the kicker. Only then the goal will be accepted.
Penalty kick: A penalty kick is awarded if the foul is committed within the D area. The penalty kick shall be taken from the penalty mark.

Corner kick: If the ball crosses the goal line either on the ground or in the air and if it is touched by the defending team, the attacking team is awarded a corner kick.

During all these different kinds of kicks, except the penalty kick, the players of the opposing team should stand 10 yards (9.15 metres) away from the kicking spot.

If the ball crosses the goal line either on the ground or in the air with touching by the attacking team, the defending team is awarded a goal kick. The goal kick is kicked against the attacking field placing the ball in the corner of the goal area.
According to the rules, the ball should cross the goal line, under the crossbar for scoring the goal. If the ball touches the inside of the crossbar, that is also considered a goal.
The total duration of the game is 90 minutes divided into two parts of 45 minutes. The half-time period (interval) of 10 minutes cannot be increased without the consent of the referee.
The team scoring the highest number of goals wins the game.
In the case of a draw, the game is played for an extra time of 30 minutes divided into two parts of 15 minutes and the match is decided by the number of goals scored by the team.
If the match is drawn even after the play of the extra period, the match is decided by tie breaker which means each team is allowed 5 penalty kicks alternately. If the game is not decided in a tie-breaker or if there is a draw, they are allowed one penalty kick each until the game is not decided.

8. introduction of white card in football

The white card was first introduced by the former president of UEFA, Michel Platini. However, the request for the white card was rejected by the then-president of FIFA, Sepp Blatter. According to Platini, the white card would be used as an alternative for players being suspended. The white card would be used to exclude some players for a certain period, five or ten minutes. It would be shown for any misconduct and unsportsmanlike conduct such as diving, physical attacks or verbal conduct. The white card will reduce the problems of the referees along with keeping the players well-behaved.

9. Uses of the white card in football

In general, the white card is used to indicate a five-minute timed penalty given to a player for offensive behaviour. The player must leave the playing area and wait on a penalty bench near the centre line until the penalty expires. The white card was introduced in 2012 for rugby for incidents where the referee is not sure of the identity of the perpetrator or which card to use. We can learn more about the white card from other sports.

10. Interference with the other cards

The white card will prevent football players from harassing the referees, physically or verbally. The white card will make the game fairer and will lead to disciplined players. The amendment of the white card will not disrupt the importance of the yellow and red cards but further support these cards. The white card will make it easier for the referees to conduct the game as they will not be under the scrutiny of players, fans and officials when using the yellow and red cards.

11. Possible results of implementing the white card

The implementation of the white card will bring only positive changes in the game. Players will think twice before committing dangerous fouls that can disrupt the momentum of the game and can be a potential career-ending challenge. Recent actions in the game have proved that a white card is a must for football. For instance, a match between Chelsea and Arsenal was chaos because the wrong player was sent off. The referee, due to the heat of the situation sent off the wrong player which was a blow to Arsenal and led them to lose the game too. In this situation, if the white card was shown, officials could analyse the situation and send the guilty player and bring the innocent player back on the pitch.

The article is emailed by the Writers Shalin Chitrakar and Rita Maharjan