What is Green Card in Football? How Does it Work?

Football fans all across the world are familiar with the concept of red and yellow cards. But in a surprising turn of events that raised a lot of eyebrows, Morocco U20 coach Mohamed Ouahbi used a green card in football to challenge the on-field referee's decision to give away a penalty to Spain U20. The referee took aid from VAR referees, and on further checks, it was confirmed that the Spanish players were simulating, which further led to the cancellation of the penalty. This had a huge impact on the scoreline of the match as Morocco U20 won the game 2-0 against Spain U20 in Chile. In this article, we try to simplify the concept of a green card in soccer and how it can be used by coaches.

What Is the Concept of a Green Card in Football?

Previously, the refereeing blunders and a collective call for a fair judgment led to the introduction of the Virtual Assistant Referee (VAR). This was a groundbreaking revolution in the world of football, and it also made on-field referees more accountable. However, the VAR call was previously under the jurisdiction of the on-field referee. To tackle this issue, FIFA adopted the green card in football as a tool for coaches to challenge the referee's decisions.

Announced in the U20 FIFA World Cup, the green card in soccer policy allows every team to use two green cards in a game, regardless of the result. The Green Card in football can be used by coaches to challenge the decision of the on-ground referees and check it again via VAR. This is similar to the third umpire or DRS system in cricket, where the captain has two reviews to challenge the umpire's call.

Can Green Card Be Implemented in Big International Games?

The green card in football can indeed play a massive role in reducing the fallacies and increasing accountability of on-ground referees, but there are several challenges to it as well. Each green card challenge generally takes 2-3 minutes. In a match where 4 green cards in a football game are used, the injury time can extend beyond 10 minutes. It can also be used by coaches to disrupt a team's momentum through unnecessary play stoppages. The concept of a green card in soccer is still very new to the footballing world, and it still needs to answer a lot of questions before being implemented on a full scale.