Red Cards for Recklessness at World Cup
(AP)
Updated: 2006-03-05 14:10

Referees at the World Cup will eject players who elbow or tackle recklessly. A meeting of the governing body's International Football Association Board also approved yellow cards for shirt-pulling or holding an opponent, as well as for playing the ball after the referee's whistle.

"The stars of the tournament will serve as role models for hundreds of millions of other players around the world," FIFA president Sepp Blatter said. "So it is all the more important that Germany 2006 sets a positive example."

The tournament will be held June 9-July 9.

The IFAB meeting also agreed on further tests for goal-line technology to determine whether a goal has been scored, provided an immediate decision can be made. It approved the continuation of an experiment using computer chips inside balls, as well as a proposal by the Italian soccer association to use digital cameras.

The board also confirmed that players' uniforms must be composed of separate items — shirt, shorts, socks, shin guards and shoes. Cameroon wore an all-in-one uniform at the 2004 African Cup of Nations.

Players who are not on the field including substitutes, also are liable to be punished for breaking the game's rules.

The IFAB is made up of representatives of the four British federations — England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — and FIFA. The next IFAB annual general meeting will be March 4, 2007, in Manchester, England.