• A white card has been issued in a football game in Portugal for the first time.
• The function of the white card and consequences of receiving one have yet to be revealed.
• It is intended to serve as a warning to players who act unsportsmanlike on the field.

A white card was issued in a football game in Portugal for the first time ever.

The incident occurred on Saturday during a women’s cup match between Sporting Lisbon and Benfica, when medical personnel from both teams raced to assist a fan who had fainted in the stands with Benfica leading 3-0 at the half.

Cheers and applause rang out from the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon.

As equipas médicas de Benfica e Sporting receberam cartão branco após assistirem uma pessoa que se sentiu mal na bancada 👏 pic.twitter.com/ihin0FAlJF

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— B24 (@B24PT) January 21, 2023

What’s a white card in football?

The cards, which were launched as a project of Portugal’s National Plan for Ethics in Sport to promote fair play, have been adopted by the Portuguese Football Federation.

The function of the white card and the consequences of receiving one have yet to be revealed. It is intended to serve as a warning to players who act unsportsmanlike on the field without meriting a yellow card, such as criticizing officials.

So far, only Portugal has used the white card. Red and yellow cards are used to punish players who have done something wrong or acted inappropriately.

Benfica won 5-0 to advance to the semifinals.

The game drew over 15,000 spectators, breaking the previous attendance record of 14,221 set in May of last year and breaking the attendance record for women’s football in Portugal.

Although the use of the white card in Saturday’s game was applauded, it is unclear how fans will react if it is used more frequently.

Stoppage time was extended at the end of each half of the World Cup in Qatar, per a FIFA mandate, to compensate for “unnatural lost time.”

Stoppages were added as a result of player time-wasting, injury treatment, lengthy goal celebrations, substitutions, VAR interventions, and yellow or red cards.

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