--- title: "Referee in Uruguay shows \"digital card\": how a smartphone replaces plastic in football refereeing" description: "At the Uruguay Cup Round of 16 match between Nacional and Rentistas (3-0), referee Eduardo Varela showed a virtual yellow card from an electronic device for the first time. Data is automatically transmitted to the association's COMET system." date: 2026-10-17T16:40:37.401Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/referee-in-uruguay-shows-digital-card tags: [uruguay-football, referee-technology, digital-card, copa-del-uruguay, nacional, rentistas] author: "Dmitriy Shatolov" publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Referee in Uruguay shows "digital card": how a smartphone replaces plastic in football refereeing ![Referee in Uruguay holds an electronic device resembling a smartphone overhead instead of a yellow card during a football match.](https://xab.info/media/2026/10/17/suddya-v-urugvae-pokazal-cifrovuyu-kartochku/suddya-v-urugvae-pokazal-cifrovuyu-kartochku-1.webp) ## Key Points - At the Uruguay Cup Round of 16 match between Nacional and Rentistas (3-0), referee Eduardo Varela used an electronic device instead of plastic cards for the first time. - The two-button device showed a virtual yellow card to Rentistas player Juan Pablo Plada for a foul. - Decision data is automatically transmitted to the Uruguayan Football Association's COMET system, eliminating manual protocol entry. - In the future, the system will be able to record goals, penalties, and substitutions, with planned media access to the data. In Uruguay during a national cup match, a referee demonstrated a disciplinary penalty using an electronic device for the first time instead of the usual plastic card. The experimental development reportedly allows the referee's decisions to be automatically recorded and transmitted to the association's official system. This is reported by Sport RBC.UA, citing the analytical account Borda Analista on the social network X. ### Experiment on the field: Nacional vs. Rentistas The technological novelty was tested in the round of 16 match of the Uruguay Cup between Nacional and Rentistas, which ended in a 3-0 victory for Nacional. However, the greatest attention was drawn not to the game's result, but to referee Eduardo Varela, who used a device outwardly resembling a mobile phone instead of standard cards. According to available data, the device's body features two buttons — for showing yellow and red cards. ### How the "digital card" works Using this device, Varela demonstrated a virtual yellow card to Rentistas representative Juan Pablo Plada, punishing him for a foul in the center of the field. A key feature of the innovation is the automatic transmission of information: after pressing the corresponding button, data on the disciplinary decision immediately goes into the COMET system of the Uruguayan Football Association. This frees the referee from the need to manually make entries in the match report after the game ends. ### Not just cards: wider functionality and media access According to the source, the system can also be used to record other important events: goals scored and disallowed, awarded penalties, and substitutions. In the future, it is planned to provide access to this data to media representatives, allowing journalists to receive information faster about events on the field and referee decisions, including during controversial episodes. ### Significance for football refereeing If the experiment proves successful, digital cards could become another tool for the technological modernization of football refereeing, alongside video assistants and tracking systems. For Uruguay, where the football association already operates the COMET system, the step is logical: protocol automation reduces the risk of human error and accelerates the publication of official data. Final conclusions on the permanent implementation of the technology, according to available information, will be made after evaluating the experiment's results. ## Fact-Check & Sources - [Футбол будущего в Уругвае: судья показывал цифровые карты во время матча (ВИДЕО)](https://sport.rbc.ua/ukr/football/futbol-maybutnogo-urugvayi-suddya-pokazuvav-1792242416.html) - Primary source: Uruguay Cup Round of 16 match Nacional vs. Rentistas (3-0), referee Eduardo Varela, electronic device with two buttons, virtual yellow card to Juan Pablo Plada, data transmission to the COMET system, media access plans. Source — Sport RBC.UA citing Borda Analista (X). ## FAQ ### In which match did the referee first use a digital card? In the Uruguay Cup Round of 16 match between Nacional and Rentistas, which ended 3-0 in favor of Nacional. ### What does the device look like and how does it work? It is a device resembling a mobile phone with two buttons for showing yellow and red cards. After pressing a button, decision data is automatically transmitted to the Uruguayan Football Association's COMET system. ### Who did the referee punish using the digital device? Rentistas representative Juan Pablo Plada with a virtual yellow card for a foul in the center of the field. ### What else can the system record? According to available data, scored and disallowed goals, awarded penalties, and substitutions. In the future, media access to the data is planned.