The EFL will pilot an Ifab (international football association board) developed scheme that will see managers in the top four divisions of English football, as well as the Carabao Cup and Checkatrade Trophy, receive red and yellow cards this season in a bid to clean up touchline behaviour.
Managers will receive yellow cards for incidents such as kicking a water bottle, sarcastic clapping or any other gesture that could be considered as attempting to undermine the match official. A red card would be handed out for actions such as violent conduct, spitting and stopping the opponent restarting play. If a manager accumulates four yellow cards, they would receive a one-match ban, eight a two-match ban, 12 a three-match ban and 16 would result in them going to Wembley to sit in front of a Football Association disciplinary panel. Subsequent fines, if deemed relevant, will be determined by the FA.
“If the behaviour of any one of the members on the bench, usually led by the manager, gets to the level where it’s not appropriate, as like a caution on the pitch, the referee will issue a yellow card to the bench,” said the EFL chief executive, Shaun Harvey. “If the behaviour continues in a manner that he doesn’t feel appropriate – effectively like a totting up of a number of fouls – then there’s the opportunity for a second yellow card to be issued at which stage the manager leaves the bench area. If there’s a serious incident deemed by the match official, the manager will be shown a red card and go to the stands. It will hopefully improve behaviour in the technical areas.”
Ifab have said that the experiment was designed to take disciplinary action against persistent offenders. The measures will be introduced from Friday, the Championship opener, in which Reading take on Derby County, with the aim of improving behaviour, while there are long-term hopes that the scheme may also be adopted in the Premier League.
Cards will be issued in the FA Cup, English Football League, EFL Cup, EFL Trophy and National League. Managers and coaches in the Premier League, however, will not be issued cards, but given verbal warnings instead.
The decision comes after a review of the technical area code of conduct by the stakeholders of the English game.
“Stage one warnings” will be issued to occupants of the technical area for inappropriate language and gestures towards match officials, the FA said.
Other forms of “irresponsible behaviour” that could result in a yellow card or warning include kicking or throwing water bottles, coats or other objects in a show of dissent as well as sarcastic clapping.
An automatic one game suspension will be triggered when an individual reaches four warnings.
The FA will hand misconduct charges to individuals accumulating 16 warnings, with a regulatory commission determining subsequent sanctions.
The pilot project, which builds on a review of the FA’s existing ‘technical area code of conduct’, will apply to the Premier League, English Football League and National League, as well as from the first round of the FA Cup, the Carabao Cup and Checkatrade Trophy.
These ‘stage one warnings’ will also accumulate, as they do for players, and any manager who receives four warnings will receive an automatic one-game touchline ban.
In the Premier League, however, managers will not be shown cards and their warnings will only be verbal.
But unlike accumulated cautions for players, there will be no automatic reset after a certain number of games.
Eight warnings will result in a two-match ban, 12 warnings will bring a three-match ban and 16 will lead to a misconduct charge with a sanction to be determined by a disciplinary panel.
The exception to the no-reset rule will be play-off matches in the EFL and National League and the FA Cup Final.
In a statement, the FA explained that the warnings will be issued for inappropriate language or gestures “which are an obvious show of dissent or an attempt to influence the decisions of the match officials”, kicking or throwing water bottles or clothing, sarcastic clapping, waving imaginary cards and so on.
EFL chief executive Shaun Harvey said rules for behaviour in the dugout or technical area are not new but the idea is to make the disciplinary procedure clearer to fans. Harvey said if the bad behaviour on the sidelines is more general, a referee can caution the entire coaching staff.
If it continues, the referee will then caution the manager and they will have to leave the technical area. And if that does not work, the referee will send the manager to the stands with a red card.
“We thought it should add to the clarity and hopefully better behaviour in the technical areas,” said Harvey.
“This is not about creating a drama. It is about making sure behaviour doesn’t decline further.”
As well as cards for managers, the FA has also announced the introduction of competition-specific suspensions for accumulated cards in the Premier League, EFL, National League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup and FA Trophy – the Checkatrade Cup did this last season.