Think Pink. The refs will do that in this summer’s Copa America should an onfield player exhibit signs of a suspected concussion.
Under pressure from football’s governing bodies, CONMEBOL is taking extra precautions to ensure player safety and differentiate concussion-related substitutions from regular ones.
How the new Pink card works
This is how the pink card works. The team gives the fourth official a pink card to delineate potential head trauma. The card permits a concussion substitute to enter the pitch while maintaining the team’s five allotted subs.
Add it all up: the pink card essentially allows a sixth-team substitute. The concussed player who goes off the pitch will not be allowed to come back on; instead, forced to the locker room for medical treatment.
The opposing team automatically gets an additional substitution in return. The International Football Association Board (IFAB) instituted the pink card rule in March. The Copa America is the card’s first major test to date.
The new pink card follows in the footsteps of two recently introduced cards: white and green. Refs deploy the white card in response to sportsmanlike conduct (an applause, if you will), while the green card acts like a red card by punishing player dissent.
What do you think of Copa America introducing the new pink card?
Photo: x/ballboxtv_
