The infamous Red Card
Referees just can’t help themselves. One of the all-time best & ex-FIFA Referees, Keith Hackett saw two legendary ex-Sheffield pros John Pearson & Ritchie Humphreys underneath the new Sheffield Football Rules plaque at The Crucible and out comes the red card. Just a bit of fun on during a blue plaque unveiling. Of course, a referee officiating an association football match comes originally out of Sheffield football but the use of cards in football is a much more modern law of the game.
The meaning behind the cards is fairly straightforward but crucial to maintaining discipline and fairness in the game. A yellow card is a warning for a player’s misconduct or foul play, often referred to as a ‘caution’. A red card is more severe; it signals a player’s dismissal from the game, typically for a serious violation or receiving a second yellow card in the same match.
Confusion and language barriers troubled FIFA Referee Committee member Ken Aston during the 1966 World Cup especially when it came to warnings and sending offs. While standing at a set of traffic lights, Ken got the inspiration to come up with a universal non-verbal system all involved in a match could understand – coloured cards. As a result, Red & Yellow cards were first used during the 1970 World Cup.
Cards made their debut in the English game in 1976. The first player to receive a red card was Blackburn Rovers winger Dave Wagstaffe. He was given his marching orders in a Division Two match at Leyton Orient on 2nd October 1976. Later the same day George Best also saw red playing for Fulham at Southampton.
I’m sure we can all remember some famous red card moments in football history. Beckham’s dismissal in the 1998 World Cup, Zidane in the 2006 World Cup Final etc. Keith Gillespie received the fastest red card in English Premier League history – Sheffield United v Reading, January 20, 2007 (zero seconds). The former Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United wide-man has the dubious honour of being sent off without any time being played.
Do you have more information about this that we could add? Are any of the facts wrong? Please get in touch if so.
Source: Steve Wood
