A referee in Uruguay has tested an electronic version of football’s yellow and red cards in a competitive match.
Eduardo Varela used a device about the size of a smartphone instead of traditional cards during Thursday’s Copa Uruguay game between Nacional and Rentistas. Nacional won 3-0.
The device has two buttons. One turns the screen yellow and the other turns it red, so a referee can show a caution or a dismissal and log the decision electronically at the same moment.
Rentistas player Juan Pablo Plada became the first player to receive a digital yellow card when Varela booked him in the 12th minute.
The private company REFe developed the technology. It aims to cut paperwork by recording disciplinary decisions, substitutions and other match incidents digitally. The developers hope to link that data to the Uruguayan Football Association’s match-management system.
Visibility remains the biggest problem. Organisers abandoned an earlier trial because sunlight made the screen hard to read. On Thursday, spectators and television viewers also struggled to tell the colours apart.
The developers are now considering LED lighting to make the screen easier to see.
The technology is still experimental. Its creators hope CONMEBOL, South American football’s governing body, and FIFA will eventually adopt it.
