Michel Platini calls for the introduction of white cards and 5 substitutions in Football

Sepp Blatter with Michel Platini

What are white cards?

UEFA President Michel Platini has called for the introduction of white cards which would put players in a sin-bin for 10 minutes for showing dissent or talking back to the referee.

In one of the many law-change proposals made in his new book, Parlons Football, Platini said the move would cut down the “craze of contesting the referee”, which he said “a veritable epidemic in football”.

Any player shown a white card would spend 10 minutes on the sidelines.

“It should not be confused in any way with the yellow card, which for its part is dedicated to fouls within the game,” he clarified.

Five substitutions and no triple punishment

Platini also called for an increase in the number of substitutions allowed in a game from three to five.

He proposed “two changes at half-time while maintaining the possibility to make three more during the course of the match”.

The 59-year-old also retierated his stance of removing the ‘triple punishment’ – where a player gets a red card, concedes a penalty and is suspended for future matches. He had earlier called this rule stupid when Arsenal’s Wojiech Szcznesny was sent off for a foul on Arjen Robben in February this year during a Champions League tie.

The IFAB had earlier rejected UEFA’s request to abolish the rule.

The Frenchman also called for reduction of FIFA’s powers.

“Fifa often operates as an electoral machine in the service of maintaining one man,” he said alluding to FIFA President Sepp Blatter.

Platini had earlier said that Blatter should step aside after a 17-year-reign but decided to not contest the elections against him:

“Through this long grip on power, has he developed the desire for and ability of self-preservation at all costs?”

The three-time Ballon D’Or winner said that FIFA is now “boss of [individual federations] when it was originally their employee”.