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Nevertheless, what if they got booked for a second time in the semi-finals? Can the supporters afford to see their stars miss the 2010 World Cup final? Certainly not! And for that reason, football’s governing body, known as the Federation International de Football Association or FIFA, has decided to reshuffle the rule for yellow cards so as to favor big players in the tournament.
Normally, a player receiving a yellow card on match-day 1 and then another yellow card on match-day 2 would be suspended on Day 3. In the same way, a player who was shown yellow in a quarter-final game, and then got booked again in his semi-final battle would usually be automatically suspended from the final. Yet, with the all-new FIFA rule for yellow cards, players are saved in the semi-final.
More on the 2010 World Cup rule on Yellow Cards
Yes, looking back at Michael Ballack’s suspension from the final during the 2002 FIFA World Cup semifinals when Germany advanced to face Brazil on the last day, FIFA decided days ago to favor the big names. For this reason, they have put in place a new regulation clearing players from their previous bookings in the semifinals; meaning that a player entering a semi-final game on yellow card will not miss the final even if he gets book in the ½ stage.
Sadly, the lateness of the creation of this rule failed to stop the emotional Paul Gascoigne from pouring tears in the Italy 1990 semi-final as he saw his opportunities of featuring in the final brought to an end through a booking. At least, our current generation’s players can benefit from FIFA’s decision, and the press quoted FIFA spokesman saying that the main aim of this revision was to protect big names from a ban from this 2010 World Cup final. Explaining FIFA’s ideas to journalists, this is what spokesman Marius Schneider declared:
“FIFA simply said we want to give the best players a chance to play in the final. The discussion first came up when Ballack was ruled out.”
A news statement on the Reuters site also read: “For this tournament, world soccer's governing body (FIFA) has shifted its usual amnesty for yellow cards from the end of the first round (group stage) until after the quarter-finals instead.”
Speaking of players who missed World Cup finals because of second yellow cards, one cannot omit Italy's Alessandro Costacurta in 1994 and Argentina's Claudio Caniggia in 1990. In this 2010 World Cup competition, other stars have got bookings so far, and below, we take a look at a relevant information concerning top footballers from top teams:
- Andre Ayew: He captained the Ghanaian U20 side as the Africans beat Brazil in the final of the U20 World Cup. On the evening of June 23, he got a yellow card against Germany on Day 3, in Group D.
- Miroslav Klose: Germany’s striker was shown 2 yellow cards and sent off against Serbia, in an encounter in which Germany got their first 2010 World Cup loss.
- Cristiano Ronaldo: The Portuguese captain was booked controversially against Ivory Coast on Day 1, and got his appeal cancelled subsequently.
- Ricardo Kaka: The Brazilian star was shown two rapid yellow cards against Ivory Coast on June 20 and was therefore sent off, as the world watched the referee act boldly in disgust.
