For the first time they showed a white card in a football match – what does it mean?

For the first time in football history, a white card was shown in a professional match. It happened inside Portugalwithin the framework of the match between Benfica Y Sporty Lisbon, for the Women’s Portuguese Cup. However, this cartoon is not a punishment, quite the contrary. Why was it exposed and who was the beneficiary of it?

The carte blanche aims to “improve ethical value in sport” and represents a change from the charters in place since the 1970 World Cup, yellow and red, which are punishing. The Estadio da Luz, which with over 15,000 people set a new attendance record for a women’s football match in Portugal, applauded the action, which occurred just before half-time in the match which finished 5-0 for Benfica.

The referee’s name (referee in this case, because it was a woman) who entered the historic decision I’m Caterina Branco. and the receivers were the medical staff of both teams, gathered to attend to a person passed out on one of the benches. And against them there was the white card, conceived in the Portuguese country as a new initiative to give a positive message and acknowledging ‘fair play’ in football, a gesture that prompted a standing ovation from spectators and a nervous smile from medical workers.

This was the sequence

According to the Portuguese Institute of Sports and Youth, the measure is part a new initiative in Portugal to encourage athletes, coaches, officials, the public and other sporting agents to act appropriately “ethically correct”as well as recognizing, highlighting and rewarding ethically relevant attitudes and behaviors in sport.

White paper can be used in different types of sports besides football, such as basketball, skating, rugby, volleyball, tennis, table tennis, golf, among others, said detailed entity. Despite There is still no global measure from FIFA or the IFAB that makes its implementation mandatory worldwide.

Antecedent that did not thrive

It is not the first time that a white card has been shown in football, even if the previous proposal was a little different from the one made last weekend in Portugal. When he presided over UEFA, Michel Platini proposed a card of this color but in his case for some actions of ‘dissent’ by the players with the referees who would have been punished with 10 minutes of absence from the field.