UEFA President, Michel Platini Stands Firm To Introduce 'White Card'

Uefa president, Michel Platini is refusing to give up on his plan to introduce a 'white card' into football. The Frenchman first raised the idea in October, only to meet strong opposition from Fifa president Sepp Blatter, who dismissed the concept of sin-binning players out of hand. However, speaking at the Dubai International Sports Conference, Platini stressed that he would be keen to see such a development given further cause for discussion, and believes that football should not be afraid to study other sports, such as rugby, when attempting to improve the game.

He stated: "The white card is a new initiative. It is related to the behaviour of the football players. Play-acting, criticism on the field, these are not accepted by people who love the game. 
"Yellow cards will still exist too but it might be interesting to have another card. This white card would send off a player for a few minutes, maybe five or 10. This would be a way to promote the game among fans who don't want to see this.  

"With a white card, there would be no suspension. I think we should learn from other sports, like rugby, who have used this system."

Platini, who was joined in Dubai by Uefa's Chief Refereeing Officer, Pierluigi Collina, also believes that some current laws of the game need to be "simplified" in order to ensure that football remains accessible to as wide an audience as possible.

He argued: "There are different types of offside rules. It is difficult to find common and ethical standards to simplify the offside rule. We need to allow people who are in front of the TV to understand offside, too. We need simple rules, which can be understood by everybody. We need to work together."