Flashback: The traffic light that inspired the introduction of cards in football

Nowadays, in addition to blowing the whistle to indicate a foul by the referees, there is also the possibility to award players yellow and red cards. However, the use of these coloured cards wasn't part of the game (and its rules) until the 1970s.

Here is the story of the yellow and red cards and their introduction to football.

Traffic lights idea

The first player who was sent off in a football match was Placido Galindo playing for Peru against Romania in the 1930 World Cup. However, this happened without the use of a red card. Physical red cards were introduced in 1970, but they were not put into practice until the 1974 World Cup when referee Dogan Babacan sent off Chile's Carlos Caszely during a match against West Germany.

At club level, the first red card was awarded in the English Football League on the 2nd of October 1976. The first red-carded player was David Wagstaff of Blackburn Rovers in their Second Division match at Leyton Orient after arguing with the referee. But where did the use of cards in football come from?

The idea of awarding yellow and red cards by referees is credited to Ken Ashton, an English referee active at the top level and the beginning of the card story takes us 10 years back. At the 1966 World Cup, German referee Rudolf Kreitlein tried (unsuccessfully) to send off Argentinean player Antonio Rattin. But Rattin either couldn't or didn't want to understand.

He was a full head taller than referee Kreitlein and eventually had to be escorted off the pitch by the police. Ken Ashton was in charge of all the referees at this World Cup and wondered how this language barrier and misunderstanding could be overcome.

Ken Ashton worked hard on this problem, but the solution arose spontaneously. He later said the idea came to him at a traffic light when he was driving down Kensington High Street in London. The traffic light in front of him turned red and at that moment he thought what was good enough for the traffic would be perfect and functional also for referees.

However, it took a long time to introduce the use of the yellow and red cards in the football world. It was not until 1987 that the International Football Association Board (IFAB) recommended at its annual meeting that "FIFA should instruct all national associations to make the use of yellow and red cards mandatory in the higher echelons of the game."

Yellow card: caution

A yellow card is shown by the referee to indicate that a player has been officially cautioned. The player's details are then recorded by the referee in a small notebook; hence a caution is also known as a 'booking'. A player who has been yellow-carded may continue playing in the match. However, a player who receives a second yellow card in a match is upgraded to a red card and sent off.

The Laws of the Game lists (precisely in Law 12) the types of offences and misconduct that may result in a yellow card: dissent by word or action; persistent infringement of the Laws of the Game; delaying the restart of play; failure to respect the required distance when play is restarted with a corner kick, throw-in or free kick; entering or re-entering the field of play without the referee's permission; deliberately leaving the field of play without the referee's permission; unsporting behaviour.

Since the video assistant referee (VAR) is part of the refereeing of football matches, there are two new types of offences for which a yellow card is awarded: entering the referee review area and excessively using the 'review' (TV screen) hand gesture.

Red card offences

To complete the list of offences for which the cards are (or should be) awarded, here are the categories of misconduct for which a player may be sent off: denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity with a handball; denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity with a foul (unless the referee awards a penalty and it was an attempt to play the ball); serious foul play; violent conduct; using offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or action(s); receiving a second yellow card (caution) in the same match.

From the 2019/20 season, yellow and red cards have also been shown to team officials. Before that season the only options were a verbal warning or a verbal dismissal.

The awarding of yellow and red cards is currently an essential part of football and thus also a reason for debate about whether the card was awarded correctly and in accordance with the Laws of the Game.

The cards always evoke emotion, but at the same time allow the referees to keep the match under control. Apart from goals, cards are one of the main spices that make football so tasty to us fans.