😳 Under-20 World Cup brings major change: green card in play, find out more
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 this 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 ended up not happening.
¡Debutó la ‘Tarjeta Verde’ en el futbol! 🟩⚽️
— Jorge MX (@JorgeAldair12) September 27, 2025
🇰🇷🇺🇦Corea del Sur y Ucrania presenciaron historia.
Luego de una jugada dudosa en el área de Ucrania, el entrenador Coreano, Lee Chang-won, mostró la ‘Tarjeta Verde’, al final la jugada no procedió. 🤦❌ pic.twitter.com/B7LE6GYb2F
In the match between Morocco and Spain (2 x 0), last Sunday (28th), the Moroccan coach Mohamed Ouahbi completely disagreed with a penalty awarded.
That’s when, instead of just complaining, he also pulled out the green card, which led to a VAR review. Subsequently, the penalty was overturned!
It was the first time the green card “reversed” a decision in a FIFA tournament.
But why has this started happening now and what could it mean for the future?
Last year, FIFA decided to conduct a pilot project for the U-20 World Cup.
The green card is meant to offer coaches – similar to American football in the NFL or basketball in the NBA – the possibility to review certain decisions later.
Per game, 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 the arbitration of matches.
It is used to activate the FVS, acronym for Football Video Support, an alternative system to VAR (Video Assistant Referee), intended for tournaments and organizations that cannot use VAR for various reasons.
In the U-20 World Cup, it can be used in penalty decisions, goals, expulsions, and wrongly attributed cards, such as in cases of player confusion.
And it is the referee who evaluates the play, without interference from an external team.
What do you think: is it useful or does football not need this?
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.
📸 Christian Petersen – 2025 Getty Images
Source: Sports Yahoo
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