A center-referee, Catarina Campos made History in Sporting Lisbon vs Benfica match in Portugal, issuing a white card for the first time ever in football history, an event that occurred on 23rd January this week at Estadio de Luz. The crowd cheered and applauded for this card that had been shown to the medical staff.
| Referee Catarina Campos who showed the first ever white card in the history of soccer. |
The white card is part of new introductions including concussion subs and longer stoppage time that will likely be adopted soonest. The card is shown to encourage fair play and is designed to 'improve ethical value sports'.
During the derby of the women's teams Benfica and Sporting Lisbon, the white card instead of a yellow or red card was shown for the first time in history. Why? In the event of a medical emergency, the doctors from both teams got together and helped a player together. The card was shown shortly before half time after someone in the dugout fell ill, with medical staff from both sides rushing to their aid.
As a reader, you could by now be asking yourself, could we see the white card being used elsewhere, say Premier League, La Liga or?
Well, as far as we know, the card has only been used in Portugal and it remains a question of whether and when the white card will be adopted in other top flight competitions across Europe or even get backed by FIFA, the regulatory body of the game.
It should also be remembered that a ‘green card’ was once used in football but never gained that popularity to be used in top flight leagues. It was implemented in Italy's Serie B league and used during the 2018 Conifa World Cup, which is an international tournament for countries that are neither associated nor affiliated with FIFA.
What is CONIFA?
CONIFA represents over 700 million people allover the world and as ealier said above comprises countries deemed 'outside' FIFA. These countries include but are not limited to the following states; United Koreans in Japan, Western Papua, Katanga, Somaliland, Western Sahara, Yoruba NFF ,Zanzibar, ANBM, Cascadia, Kuskatan, Aymara, FAD de Estado de São Paulo, Mapuche, Maule Sur, Rapa Nui, SF Armenio Argentina, Oceania, Australian, First Nations,Hawai’i and Kiribati
In this competition, green cards were given for fouls that were considered to be between a yellow and red card offence. If a player received a green card, they had to leave the field immediately, but could be substituted if the team had not already made all their changes and Cristian Galano was the first player to receive the first ever green card an event that took place when he indicated to the referee that a goal-kick should have been awarded instead of a corner.
