Bizarre moment referee waves WHITE CARD for the first time in a football match in Portugal
- Referee made history in Sporting Lisbon vs Benfica match in Portugal
- The official showed a white card for the first time in sports history
- The rarely used card is given to recognize and encourage fair play in the game
Football history was made on Saturday when a white card, which recognizes fair play, was shown for the first time in a match in Portugal.
Red and yellow cards for fouls and misdemeanors have been a fixture of the sport for decades, but Portugal have introduced a white one as part of a series of new initiatives in the country.
Referee Catarina Campos held up the card – shown to acknowledge and encourage fair play – during a Women’s Cup clash between Sporting Lisbon and Benfica in Lisbon at the weekend in a first for the game.
Referee Catarina Campos showed the white card in a Women’s Cup clash between Sporting Lisbon and Benfica on Saturday
Shortly before half-time in the Taca de Portugal Feminina match – the Portuguese equivalent of the Women’s FA Cup – the official showed the card as it would have either red or yellow, and was well received by the crowd at the Estadio da Luz.
Someone on a bench in the dugout had fallen ill, with medical staff from both teams quickly coming to their aid.
The referee took out the card and showed it to members of both teams’ medical teams, prompting a warm welcome from the fans.
The card can be shown to recognize and encourage fair play and is designed to ‘enhance ethical value in sport’.
The move is part of a new initiative in Portugal to encourage teams to act in a sporting manner and receive instant recognition for their positive actions.
Earlier, former UEFA president Michel Platini called for the introduction of a white card as a punishment for dissent, which would leave guilty players in a 10-minute mess.
This happened after someone in the dugout fell ill, with the help of medical personnel from both teams.
The referee held it up as an acknowledgment of their sportsmanlike conduct during the match
Platini suggested the white card to help combat “the craze for challenging the referee”, which he called a “real epidemic in football”.
The Frenchman’s ideas went no further – and Portugal’s carte blanche appears to be a Portuguese-led initiative rather than anything led by the International Football Association Board.
Benfica eventually won 5-0 in front of 15,032 fans – a record attendance for a women’s football game in Portugal – to advance to the semi-finals of the competition.
Their men’s team was also victorious, winning 3-0 in Santa Clara. Enzo Fernandez was among those involved and it has since emerged that Chelsea would be back for the World Cup-winning midfielder.
