Virtual cards come to football

Uruguayan football has tried a new and surprising way of showing warnings: virtual cards, which debuted this Thursday in Nacional’s 3-0 victory against Rentistas, in the round of 16 of the AUF Uruguay Cup. Referee Eduardo Varela used an electronic device to show Juan Pablo Plada the first yellow in the 12th minute.

The device, similar to a mobile phone or a small tablet, allows yellow and red cards to be displayed using a screen and specific buttons. But its function goes beyond replacing the classic cards: it automatically records the sanctions and sends them to the COMET computer system, preventing referees from having to write them down by hand and digitize them later.

The initiative is part of a project of the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) together with a technology company. The objective is that other incidents of the match, such as substitutions and penalties, are also recorded in real time, and that in the future this information can reach the media directly. The device also does not need a Wi-Fi connection.

However, there is still a lot of room for improvement since in its first appearance from a distance the color of the card was not clearly distinguishable, generating some confusion among the spectators present in the stadium.