A football referee in Uruguay has used a digital red card in an official Uruguayan Cup match. Eduardo Varela held up a smartphone-like device during the match between Nacional and Rentistas, becoming the first referee to show a red card in this way.
The device's screen can light up yellow or red, and the referee uses it to record penalties directly into Uruguayan football's digital system. In addition to warnings and sending-offs, the technology records substitutions, goals and penalties awarded.
The project has been in development by the company REFe for about three years. According to the information of „Daily Mail“ the ultimate ambition of the creators is for the system to be adopted by the South American football confederation CONMEBOL, and subsequently by FIFA.
„We have seen all kinds of comments - positive and negative. We even laughed at the memes. The important thing is that people are talking about it. Every innovation takes time“, said Mauro Sacco, director of REFe.
The other director of the company - Diego de la Pena, defined the project as a development that still needs improvements. „A yellow card should be yellow, a red card should be red and be visible to people in the stadium and on television“, he said.
The first test has shown a serious limitation. In the match between Defensor Sporting and Plaza Colonia, strong sunlight made the screen almost unrecognizable from a greater distance, and the experiment was terminated.
The developers are exploring the possibility of adding LED lighting around the device, which would make the colors clearer for viewers. The issue is also important for television broadcasts, as the digital card must be recognizable not only by players and referees on the field.
The idea has already caused mocking reactions on social networks. Some fans described it as an unnecessary replacement for traditional cards, while others raised the question of what would happen if the device's battery ran out.
The technology remains in the testing phase. It has not yet been announced when it could be used on a wider scale or completely replace the standard yellow and red cards.