Diss Town boss Jon Abbott believes introduction of sin bins into the Thurlow Nunn Leagues can be a positive move

Diss Town manager Jon Abbott believes the planned introduction of sin bins at Steps 5 and 6 is a positive move, providing that match officials show consistency with how it is deployed.

It was announced late last week by the Football Association that sin bins will be used for players who have been shown a yellow card by the referee for dissent in Thurlow Nunn League matches from the start of next season, which will see the cautioned player sit out for the next 10 minutes of the game.

Abbott has first-hand experience of the process from his time in charge of Scole United and has seen how it all works.

“We had it while I was at Scole for a season and a half and I can see why they are doing it because it does work,” he said.

“As managers we do not want to be losing our players for 10 minutes at a time so I did see a clamp down in dissent, which can only be a good thing.

“I lost a couple of players to the sin bin at Scole and it does force you into making changes and that disrupts things.

“My only concern is how it is going to be enforced and whether certain referees interpret it in different ways. It needs to be the same for everyone and a level playing field.

“But like I say, as long as it is the same for everyone, it does work and it cuts down dissent so it is for the better of the game."