Luton boss wary of a 'boring' Premier League if sin-bins and more VAR are introduced

Luton boss Rob Edwards is wary that the Premier League could become ‘boring’ if new plans to introduce sin-bins and even more VAR checks are approved.

Following an Annual Business Meeting for the International Football Association Board (IFAB) on Tuesday, proposals were approved for trials whereby only the team captain may approach the referee and for sin bins to be tested at a higher level.

Used for ‘dissent and specific tactical offences’, they are currently in operation up to step five of the National League system and tier three and below in women's football, having been brought in from the 2019-20 season in an attempt to to improve levels of respect towards officials and fair play as well.

Meanwhile there were also discussions over a number of other alterations, including whether the use of VAR could be extended to check free-kicks, second yellow cards that lead to players being sent off, and for corners as well.

Former Arsenal and England winger Paul Merson labelled the moves as ‘pathetic’, while describing sin bins where teams could then just defend for 10 minutes until back up to their full quota once more as ‘killing the game.’

Although Edwards didn’t use quite the same rhetoric, he made it quite clear he wasn’t a fan, saying: “I just think we’ve got such a good product and I don’t think now we need too much interference with it.

"I am pro VAR for the factual decisions, if it’s offside, but when you introduce VAR, it's someone else’s opinion. So the referees, as individuals, they’re still going to see things in a slightly different way, and that’s when you get discrepancies in decision from game to game.

"Look at the game on Monday night, Fulham and Wolves, there’s a few there that even people in the game will have a different view, if that was a penalty or not and then you’re in dangerous territory.

"I'm starting to go away from that side of it. For me it’s got to be facts, but I think we've got to be really careful with where we’re going as the game’s going to end up being too long, boring.

"We’ve got such an exciting game here in this country that’s fast, that's why the world love it. I think we've got to be really, really careful where we go with it.”