This Day in History: 2023-03-17

Nr. 427

GREEN LIGHT FOR RED AND YELLOW CARDS (1966)

England’s bad-tempered quarter-final with Argentina in the 1996 World Cup quarter-finals was historic in more ways than one. On the surface, England’s win allowed the host nation to proceed to ultimate victory, but behind the scenes it sparked an idea for language­neutral symbol cards. Referees’ commissioner Ken Aston had become aware of the language difficulties that had caused so much trouble during the game and was mulling over the problem on his drive home. The stop-start journey through a succession of traffic lights provided him with the inspiration for a warning yellow card and the final red, although the idea wasn’t actually adopted for another ten years.

Referee Konstantin Zecevic sends off Argentina’s Jorge Albrecht as his team-mates complain about the decision by surrounding the official.