The International FA Board has sanctioned the FA to conduct trials with ‘temporary dismissals’, which most people will call ‘sin-bins’.

This will no doubt please those who have called for this rugby rule to be copied by football, so that a team will be punished on the day.

There have been, however, several misgivings over the trials.

Firstly, they are taking place in what is called ‘grass roots’ football and the question is why not in professional football where it could be more easily organised and controlled.

I understand there is no league involved within Berks and Bucks. Another query is why is the FA only using it for dissent, when the IFAB would have allowed it for all cautionable offences.

The process of sin-bins is I think fairly well known.

The guilty player is sent to the touch line for 10 minutes, of course this gives rise to where does he (or she) spend their 10 minutes. The technical area is mentioned but most local grounds do not have them.

There is also the question of who times the suspension. The IFAB mentions the fourth official or even a club official.

Grass-roots games seldom see fourth officials and which member of which club should you entrust with the timing.

It looks like another duty for the referee (and perhaps another watch). Imagine you have three players on temporary dismissal all at different times.

The greatest complaint is normally a second yellow card offence means a sending off, but here a player temporarily dismissed a second time for dissent can be substituted when his suspension is finished. All that is lost is 20 minutes of his playing time.

And here is the slightly weird situation that if a player who has spent 10 minutes’ suspension for dissent comes back on and commits a non-dissent cautionable offence it will not count as two yellows equals one red.

If he goes back in the sin-bin for dissent he can still be substituted at the end of his second 10-minute spell. Doesn’t sound too much of a deterrent.