The unusual card made its debut during a women’s cup match between Portuguese teams Sporting and Benfica. During the game, one of the fans fainted, and medical personnel from both clubs rushed to his aid. That’s when referee Catarina Campos showed both teams the white card.
The new cards are the opposite of yellow and red: the usual brightly colored cards are used as punishment for infractions, while the white cards reward players for sportsmanship.
Afterwards, fans of both clubs began to applaud, supporting the referee’s decision.
The white cards were part of an initiative of Portugal’s National Plan for Ethics in Sport, adopted to encourage fair play. The initiative was taken over by the Portuguese Football Federation. So far, only in this country have the new cards become commonplace.
The match in which Benfica beat Sporting 5-0 to reach the cup semi-finals was marked not only by the debut of the new card, but also by record attendance for women’s soccer in Portugal. About 15,000 people came to watch the game.
