France coach wants sin bins at finals

HAMELIN, Germany, July 2 (Reuters) Players should be sin-binned after being booked at World Cups to reduce the risk of them being suspended, France coach Raymond Domenech said today.

Players with two yellow cards from the same stage in the tournament automatically miss the next match in that phase.

''I think that system is unfair, particularly in the knock-out stage, because it has no incidence if you're eliminated and it penalises you if you qualify,'' said the France coach, whose team will play Portugal in the semi-finals on Wednesday.

''I think it would be better if players booked were immediately suspended temporarily instead of carrying their yellow card into the next match and facing the risk of being suspended,'' he added.

The system of sin bins exists in several team sports, notably ice hockey and rugby, but not in soccer.

Domenech had criticised refereeing earlier in the tournament, saying some match officials were too fussy and France had been penalised by several controversial decisions.

There has been an unusually high number of yellow cards and incidents related to refereeing at this tournament. A record 27 red cards have been dished out at these finals.

REUTERS DH PC2024