Penalty Box in Soccer? UEFA President Michel Platini Wants to Try it Out

Should soccer get a penalty box? UEFA President Michel Platini thinks so.

The former French superstar recently told reporters that he wanted to try to introduce a system that removes yellow cards and replaces it with penalty boxes similar to those in rugby and hockey.

"I would change the system of warnings. I would make it like rugby, punishing the offender with 10 or 15 minutes out of the game," Platini said, according to Fox Sports. "That way, the benefit goes to the team he is playing against, in the same match, instead of a sanction by cards which is carried out against a third team, the next on the calendar.

"It is an idea. Now it needs to mature and see if it really is good for the game. It is a proposal to be explored."

Players that take penalties in hockey are thrown into the box for two minutes, giving the opposing team an immediate advantage. The current card system in soccer simply works as a warning for players. If a player receives two yellow cards in a match, then he is automatically ejected from the match and banned from subsequent games in the same tournament.

Platini also stated that he did not want goaltenders to receive red cards for penalties committed.

"It seems excessive," he said. "The penalty is itself already a punishment enough.

"I think it's something that everyone in FIFA and UEFA agree on, but one or two of the countries that make up the International Board are unwilling to change."