In Montevideo, Nacional’s 3-0 Copa Uruguay win over Rentistas carried a small piece of football’s digital future as well as a place in the next round. Referee Eduardo Varela used an electronic device in place of the familiar yellow and red cards during Thursday’s round-of-16 tie.
Key takeaways
- Nacional defeated Rentistas 3-0 in the Copa Uruguay last 16.
- Eduardo Varela became the first referee to use Uruguay’s new virtual-card system in a match.
- Rentistas midfielder Juan Pablo Plada received the first electronic yellow card.
- Nacional forward Nahuel Gelos was shown the electronic red card in the 90th minute.
- The handheld system also records match events and sends them directly to the Uruguayan Football Association.
A phone-sized replacement for the cards
Rather than reaching into his pocket for physical cards, Varela carried a handset resembling a mobile phone. When disciplinary action was required, he selected the relevant yellow- or red-card option on the device.
Plada’s caution made him the first player booked through the new system in Uruguayan football. The trial’s first match later produced its full range of sanctions when Gelos was dismissed at 45 minutes of the second half.
The initiative arrived during a domestic cup night in which Nacional were comfortable on the scoreboard, but the technical change ensured the fixture became notable beyond the 3-0 result.
Match data sent straight to the federation
The device is intended to do more than register disciplinary decisions. Referees can also log goals, substitutions and other official match information while the game is being played.
Those details are transmitted directly into the Uruguayan Football Association’s system, reducing the need to compile the record separately after full time. There is also a plan for the information to be made available to the media live, extending the trial from an officiating tool into a potential real-time match-data service.
