Sports News | A Cough Could Lead to Red Card in Soccer A Cough Could Lead to Red Card in Soccer
Get latest articles and stories on Sports at LatestLY. A soccer player who deliberately coughs close to another player or match official can be issued a red card.
Zurich, Aug 4 (AP) A soccer player who deliberately coughs close to another player or match official can be issued a red card.
The International Football Association Board, the game's lawmaker, updated its guidelines while the pandemic perseveres.
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A referee can only red card a player when they are certain the cough is intentional. A yellow card is also optional.
The new rule falls under "using offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures."
IFAB said in a statement: "As with all offenses, the referee has to make a judgment about the true nature of the offense.
"If it were clearly accidental, then the referee would not take action nor if the 'cough' took place with a large distance between the players.
"However, where it is close enough to be clearly offensive, then the referee can take action." AP
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)