The phone-sized device is designed to register bookings and send them digitally, including the time of each incident. The reported aim is to reduce the paperwork referees complete before transferring disciplinary information to official systems.
The project, developed by REFe, is also intended to connect with the Uruguayan Football Association’s COMET platform. Mauro Sacco, one of the project’s directors, reportedly sees the system as a way to modernise one of football’s few remaining manual procedures.
For referees, the appeal is clear. A digital record could reduce duplication, limit clerical errors and make post-match administration more efficient.
The biggest problem exposed in Uruguay was visibility. A previous trial was reportedly affected by sunlight, while spectators and television viewers struggled to identify some decisions during the Nacional-Rentistas match.
That matters because the yellow and red cards are not only administrative tools. They are part of football’s visual language, instantly understood inside a crowded stadium and around the world.
“The yellow card has to be yellow, the red has to be red, and that needs to be visible to everyone in the stadium and on television,” Diego de la Peña said, according to the report.
Developers are reportedly considering LED lighting around the device to make its colours clearer.
The technology is expected to undergo further improvements before any wider rollout. REFe reportedly hopes eventually to gain interest from CONMEBOL and , but acceptance will depend on reliability, visibility and the willingness of football’s governing bodies to change a familiar ritual.
The next storyline to watch is whether the electronic card can become as unmistakable as the traditional one.