During my footballing days at Secondary school, I always took great comfort in the fact that I could not be booked. I was verbally warned on countless occasions for mistimed tackles and feisty bust-ups that “would have warranted a yellow”. There was also the time I hurtled across a goal line to palm away a ferocious strike destined for the top corner only to be told a professional defender would undoubtedly receive a red card for such illegal heroics and that I was lucky on this occasion (not that I cared, the opposition missed the consequent penalty). All in all, it is undeniable that red and yellow cards play a pivotal role in both keeping and restoring order on the professional football pitch and stops players behaving as badly as I used to. So what purpose lies in store for the newly-developed green card?

The green card was introduced this weekend into Italy’s second footballing tier, ‘Serie B’, as a means of acknowledging fair play and sporting behaviour. For example, if a player is fairly challenged in the penalty area and shows no dissent or acrimonious appeal over play continuing then their honesty shall warrant a congratulatory green card being awarded. The card itself however, will have absolutely no bearing on the in-match play whatsoever. In fact, the card itself does not even exist. After a nod of recognition from the referee and a potential ripple of applause from the crowd, the player in question will be left to wonder whether the virtual card may be “in the post”.

Despite reading at length about this new initiative, I am struggling to overcome my initial query regarding football’s new ground-breaking refereeing resource. That being, what on earth is the point?

The player in question would, quite frankly, be equally rewarded for his honesty were a gold sticker to be emblazoned on his shirt at the time for being such an ethically upstanding sportsman and his hand assuredly shook. The whole concept pangs of pathetic patronising. The dumbing down of a sport already renowned, whether justly or not, for lauding those seemingly uneducated and/or embroiled in regular scandal.

I think it is fair to say that the concept is, at best, half-baked. There was talk of green cards cancelling out yellow cards wrongly distributed earlier in the game, a better idea at least but still impractical. There have also been murmurs of a white card being introduced, with the intent of “sin-binning” any player found to be over-zealous in his protestation towards a dubious refereeing decision. However, if a player was aware that green cards could rescind an earlier punishment, they would undoubtedly protest even more fervently in the knowledge that decisions can successfully be overturned.

It is undeniable that play-acting and unsporting behaviour is rife in football. The imagery of grown men wailing and rolling on the ground in response to as little as the brushing of their brow is embarrassing and damages the reputation of the sport. The booking of players for diving was introduced only a few years ago and has undoubtedly been a beneficial addition to the rulebook. However, it has not eradicated the problem. It has simply acknowledged that cheating is “a bit naughty”. A yellow card is after all, in essence, no more than a slap on the wrist. An accumulative form of punishment is in place where players face a one-match-ban after 5 yellow cards have been received, a two-match-ban after 10 yellows and so on, but that only effects those who repeatedly offend.

So what does the green card actually mean to a player proud enough to display honesty and self-worth? It will get your name on a list of ‘most correct’ players. There is in truth, no reward for your show of fair play other than a warm fuzzy feeling inside and potentially joining the elite list of footballers who warrant a clear conscience.

But why shouldn’t that be enough? Has football got to the point where there is so much simulation and deception that we need acknowledge the odd occasion someone actually does what is right? It does not seem a fitting message to children growing into themselves and the game that you need to appeal for certification that cheating is wrong and honesty right. The introduction of bookings for bad behaviour and wrong-doing was undoubtedly invaluable. But we cannot introduce the extolling of fair play until the real issue of cheating is punished appropriately. Players have bookings rescinded countlessly as a result of reviews that show the true culprit to be the floundering buffoon on the floor. Pardon the wrongly accused by all means, but redistribute the punishment to he who actually brought the beautiful game into disrepute.

The second tier of Italian football has been designated as the breeding ground for this hellbent scheme. A league that was forced to start a week later than originally scheduled due to ongoing investigations into match-fixing by over 50 players, coaches and mafia members. The irony that this ludicrous “pat on the back” scheme will improve the outlook of this league and its ethos above all other is undeniable. With behind-the-scenes back-handers and on-the-pitch exploits endangering the long-term outlook of this league and consequently the sport as a whole, by all means consider a colour card with some positive connotations. But many more need to receive red for wrongdoing before green cards can be given for goodness.