The first white card was issued in Portugal’s football match.
After medical staff from both sides rushed to aid a fan who had fallen in the stands during Benfica’s first half, the card was displayed during Saturday’s women’s cup match between Sporting Lisbon & Benfica.
Referee Catarina Campos showed both teams the card.
This gesture recognizes and praises fair play.
The decision was cheered and applauded by the Estadio da Luz fans in Lisbon.
These cards were created as part of Portugal’s National Plan for Ethics in Sport and were adopted by the Portuguese Football Federation.
Portugal is the only country that has so far adopted the white card.
They are used to discipline players who have committed misconduct.
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Benfica won with 5-0 to reach the semi-finals.
This match also broke the previous record of 14,221 fans set in May 2012.
Although the match was a success, the popularity of the white card was not. It remains to be seen how the fans will react if the cards are more widely used.
This is a FIFA directive that saw an increase in stoppage time at the end each half to compensate for “unnatural lost times” during the Qatar World Cup.
For players who waste time, for treatment of injuries, for long goal celebrations, substitutions and for yellow or red card violations, stoppages were introduced.