TemporarydismissalsTemporarydismissals

Temporary dismissals or sin bins are a disciplinary option that may be used to penalise some or all yellow-card offences in youth, veterans, disability and grassroots competitions by dismissing the offender from the game for a short period of time. Competition rules will determine if there are sin bins for all yellow cards or only for specific yellow-card offences, e.g. dissent.

When a player commits a sin-bin offence, the referee shows a yellow card and points with both arms to the technical areas to indicate that the player must leave the pitch for a certain amount of time. The time is defined by the competition rules and typically ranges from five to ten minutes.

The player leaves and stays off the pitch (in the technical area or with the team officials) until the sin-bin period is completed and the referee signals for the player to return to the game. The signal can only be given when there is a stoppage in play.

The sin-bin period starts when the match restarts after the player has left the pitch. If there is a stoppage in play, the sin-bin period is extended by the time the play was stopped.

In competitions where sin bins are used for all yellow-card offences:

• A player who has been in the sin bin once and then commits another sin-bin offence:
  • is sent to the sin bin again
  • cannot return to the game
  • can be substituted at the end of their second sin-bin period if the team has not used all its substitutes and/or all its substitution opportunities (if applicable)

In competitions where sin bins are only used for some yellow-card offences:

A player who receives two yellow cards (regardless of whether they are sin-bin offences or not) is sent off and may not be replaced/substituted

For more detailed information on this topic in the Laws of the Game, click here.