By Megha Mallick,News18

Copyright news18

A FIFA referee made history with a green card in a U20 World Cup match on Thursday, marking the first time the colour was used in an official game in the sport’s history. FIFA is testing the use of a green card in football, with one already issued in a high-profile game.
Red and yellow cards have been key tools for disciplining footballers since their introduction at the 1970 World Cup. But while they are integral to the application of the rules, a major change could be in store for football. That is because at the men’s U20 World Cup, taking place in Chile, a new system is being put to the test.
At the CONIFA World Football Cup, a tournament for non-FIFA countries, a green card was issued to a footballer for showing dissent toward the referee. But while that scheme was designed to help with ‘the lack of respect for referees’, the official Olympics website has explained that the green card has a very different use in the FIFA-backed trial.
The green card is now being used as part of the officiating process via Football Video Support, serving as a Video Assistant Referee in tournaments and organisations where VAR is not available.
Video footage is again used for ‘clear and obvious errors’ involving goals, penalties and yellow cards, but the procedure operates in a different manner.
At the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the green card is being used to trigger Football Video Support, signalling a request to review a decision.
As in the Women’s U-20 World Cup in Colombia and the Blue Stars FIFA Youth Cup, managers are permitted two challenges per match, similar to sports like American football, basketball, tennis, baseball and cricket.
Reviews must be requested after a referee’s decision, permitting them to watch a replay of the incident on a monitor.