Referee Catarina Branco shows this card for the first time in the Portuguese Women’s Cup match
Football is the most watched sport in Spain and most fans know the rules of this game. There are those who are true fans of this sport and can easily explain what is offside, but this rarely used card can surprise even the most fanatical of people.
Those who follow this sport know very well what yellow and red cards are used for. The referee shows the yellow card to a player to penalize his behavior, two yellow cards result in a red one, which means exclusion from the match. The red card means the immediate removal of the player from the match being played for unsportsmanlike conduct. What some fans may not know is the meaning of the white card.
This sport experienced a historic match in the women’s match between Benfica and Sporting Lisbon, when referee Catarina Branco showed the white card during the Portuguese Women’s Cup match. Many of the followers of this sport may have seen these images and did not understand what this symbol means. The white card is an initiative that aims to reward good deeds and recognize fair play in this sport.
In the match between Benfica and Sporting Lisbon, the white card was shown to the medical authorities of both teams for helping a fan in the stadium’s stands. This FIFA initiative in international football seeks to publicly acknowledge such gestures and reward ‘fair play’ on football pitches. Cards have been used to admonish players for years, but now there is this way to reward good behavior and it is a way to set an example to the large number of young and old fans of this sport.
It is not the first time that a white card has been drawn in this sport, although the previous proposal was very different from recognizing ‘fair play’. When Michel Platini presided over UEFA, he suggested introducing a white card to point out some disagreements of players with the referees who would be penalized with 10 minutes off the field.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
