Triple hit for penalties to be axed by Fifa

EXCLUSIVE: The sanction of a penalty, a red card and a subsequent ban for denying a goalscoring opportunity deemed too harsh

Manchester City's Martin Demichelis brings down Barcelona's Lionel Messi to concede a penalty and receives a red card (PA)

Either red cards or bans triggered by penalties are to be scrapped by Fifa’s rule-making body.

The current “triple punishment” rule which sees teams punished three times for the same offence – conceding a penalty, a red card for the guilty player and that player subsequently banned – is on the agenda for the spring meeting of the International FA Board.

Scottish FA chief executive, Stewart Regan, who sits on the board, said: “This will come back in March and there will be a recommendation for change. There are two ends of the spectrum.

Either you reduce the automatic suspension or you adopt a more technical solution whereby the 18-yard box is deemed a special area and that denying a goalscoring opportunity becomes a yellow card since a penalty is awarded anyway.”

The IFAB, which comprises representatives of Fifa and the four British FAs, decides rule changes.

It is being advised by former referee Pierluigi Collina. Regan said: “He believes that we cannot keep pushing this back. We need to do something to reduce the amount of punishment that is meted out for denying a goalscoring opportunity.”