Football lovers would know exactly what the function of yellow cards and red cards are. Besides giving a warning, the yellow and red cards also function as the signs which were directed to the players. Thus, these two cards will at least prevent the brutal actions of football players.
But judging by the initial appearance, do the two cards appear simultaneously with the birth of football? The answer is no. Yellow and red cards have their own history.
It is undeniable that football has become the most popular sport in the whole world. The game that relies on physical strength and a variety of tactics is certainly very exciting to be watched. By relying on physical strength, a lot of clashes between players is a common thing. The referee would give a warning by issuing a yellow or red card if the violation committed by the player exceeds the limit.
The idea of his own appearance occurred at the 1966 World Cup, in the quarter-finals between England and Argentina. The referee who led the match came from Germany, namely Rudolf Kreitlein. Because of a fierce offense, the captain of Argentina, Antonio Rattin, was kicked out by Kreitlein. However, Rattin did not understand what the German referee meant. He did not immediately leave the field.
The British referee who took charge of the match, Ken Aston, then entered the field. With a little Spanish capital, he seduced Rattin to leave the field. Because of this, Ken Aston then thought, there must be universal communication that can be immediately known to everyone when the referee gives a warning to the player or expels him from the field. Thus, the referee does not need to make an explanation in a language that the player might not know.
The idea of the cards continued when one day, Ken stopped at a crossroad and saw a traffic light, from which he then got an idea. He suggested that the referee gave a yellow and red card. The yellow card was given as stern warnings or minor sanctions to players who commit violations. While a red card was issued for the hard sanctions where players who commit serious violations must get out of the field.
The proposal was apparently accepted by FIFA and at the 1970 World Cup, the yellow and red cards began to be used. But throughout the 1970 World Cup, none of the players got a red card, so only yellow cards were used at that time.
Although this idea came out of the British referee, the country did not participate in applying it to their football competition. They only used it in English football in 1976.
The use of these cards was stopped in 1981 and 1987 because the referee was considered too easy to issue a card. Many players protested so that the use of the cards was temporarily stopped.
Interestingly, the idea that Ken Aston produced was apparently not only used in football sports. Hockey Sports also adopted Ken Aston’s thought. The warning cards in the sports branch even use three colors such as traffic lights, namely green, yellow and red. Green for warnings, yellow for removing players temporarily, and red for driving players away permanently.
Starting from seeing the traffic lights, the idea became the cards become the universal language in football matches.
