Sin-bins are new set to be trialled in professional football, and if this law is implemented several Wolves players could be in trouble.
As Wolves once again saw themselves as the victim of poor officiating against Fulham. The Molineux side won’t be pleased to see discussions over a potential new rule.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is the law-making body of football and has recently developed plans which would see 10-minute sin-bins implemented in professional football.
BBC Sport reported that they were told that the next step is deciding which leagues will partake in the trial.
IFAB secretary Lukas Brud said, “Over the next weeks and months, we are going to identify which levels are best to test.
Former Chelsea captain John Terry admitted he wasn’t a fan of the idea citing his reason on X as “the level of tolerance and inconsistencies from referees will differ every week”.
So if this were to be implemented, how would it affect Wolves and which players would be most at risk of being sin-binned?
Which six Wolves players would be most at risk of being sin-binned?
Worryingly for Wolves, in the Premier League’s top 100 foulers, they have several players which could indicate that with sin-bins, Wolves could be facing serious issues and regularly be reduced to 10 men.
£30k-a-week star Joao Gomes is potentially the biggest liability for Gary O’Neil‘s side if this rule change is implemented. Gomes ranks second in the list of top foulers with 25, many of which tend to be cynical and he is almost always one to plead his case with referees.
Gomes is ever-present in the Wolves midfield which would make his absence for 10 minutes during potentially crucial games, a tough pill to swallow.
Joining Gomes however, would be a player who O’Neil relies upon heavily in Nelson Semedo. The Portuguese full-back ranks 11th with 20 fouls already this season.
Next up, is one of Wolves’ best players Mario Lemina who ranks 16th with 18 fouls. Lemina and Gomes often start together in the Wolves midfield so the fact both are among the highest foulers will be seriously concerning for O’Neil.
Both these midfielders are also suspended to face Arsenal this coming weekend which shows how much of a liability they both are.
Hee-Chan Hwang is another who is at risk as he ranks joint 51st in the rankings with 13 fouls which for a forward, is quite a substantial number.
Centre-half duo Max Kilman and the recently suspended Craig Dawson are also on the list with 12 fouls a piece which again raises the risk of potentially whole positions needing to tread carefully.
This will certainly give O’Neil some new problems to consider ahead of next term if the Premier League is to implement sin-bins.