OneFootball
·30. September 2025
In partnership with
Yahoo sportsOneFootball
·30. September 2025
Have you heard about the green card? Unlike the yellow and red cards, the new card can only be used by coaches, not referees.
And it has already happened twice in this U-20 World Cup!
The first time was in South Korea 1 x 2 Ukraine, last Saturday (27th), when the Korean coach, Lee Chang-won, disagreed with a play—a possible penalty for his team—and showed the card to the referee, forcing a review of the play—which ultimately did not happen.
In the match between Morocco and Spain (2 x 0), last Sunday (28th), the Moroccan coach Mohamed Ouahbi completely disagreed with a penalty that was awarded.
That’s when, instead of just complaining, he also pulled out the green card, which led to a review. Afterwards, the penalty was overturned!
It was the first time the green card “reversed” a decision in a FIFA tournament.
But why did this start happening now and what could it mean for the future?
The green card is meant to give coaches—like in the NFL and NBA—the possibility to review certain decisions later on.
Per match, a coach can use the green card twice.
Unlike the yellow and red cards, which have a disciplinary function, the green card is meant to assist in refereeing the matches.
It is used to trigger the FVS, which stands for Football Video Support, an alternative system to VAR, intended for tournaments and organizations that cannot use the video system for various reasons.
In the U-20 World Cup, it can be used for decisions regarding penalties, goals, expulsions, and cards wrongly given, such as in cases of player confusion.
And it is the referee themselves who reviews the play on a monitor, without interference from an external team.
What do you think: is it something useful or does football not need this at all?
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.
📸 Christian Petersen - 2025 Getty Images
Live