"THE black card was a success to a certain degree. I think a lot of referees actually shied away from giving a black card.
I never found it a problem.
If I had to give a black card, I gave it. "What's getting up the noses of the players is the interpretation of the one where a player gets around the defender and gets fouled and no black card is produced. "But I think it made players more aware that they couldn't do the real deliberate foul - the bad body check and the pulling down of an opponent.
"I've issued on average one black card per game. I can never remember being asked to go to a team to discuss what exactly are black card offences, so I think that was one of its biggest downfalls. "I also think the card needs to be more distinctive as some fans get irate about it because they can't see it."