It all started from a fracas which occurred during the 1966 World Cup quarter-final at Wembley between England and Argentina which resulted in the Argentinian captain Rattin being sent off... and after the match England footballing brothers Bobby and Jack Charlton finding out that they had been “booked” although they were not aware this had happened! “Word of mouth affirms that later that same evening, Ken Aston drove home from Wembley Stadium in his sports car, with Jackie Charlton's confusion and all the mouldering controversies at the forefront in his mind. As he was waiting for a red light to change at Kensington High Street, it suddenly dawned on Ken that a colour-coding scheme based on the same amber/yellow (steady) - red (stop) principle as used on traffic lights would traverse language barriers and make it obvious to players and spectators alike what disciplinary decision the referee had just taken. So the system whereby referees show a yellow card for a caution, and a red card for an expulsion, was processed by the authorities in time to be introduced for the 1970 World Cup tournament in Mexico. The best innovations always look so obvious in hindsight. It is a good job the lights were against him on that homeward journey.” It is said that the first prototype cards were made by Mr. Aston’s wife Hilda at their home, cut to fit into a pocket in his referee’s shirt.
But it is not just in football that “yellow” and “red” cards became common place. They have been adopted for use in other sports and aspects of life away from sport. Regrettably, Mr. Aston has not been given the public acclamation for this innovation – nor some others in football. He was the first referee, in 1946, to wear what became the distinctive all black referee’s strip with white trim. It was Mr. Aston who, the following year, introduced bright yellow and red flags for linesmen instead of the colours of the home team as was previously the case. He also introduced, in 1974, the display boards for substitutions so that both players and spectators were aware of which players were involved. Another of his suggestions, however, was not successful. This was that to determine who had won a knock-out match which had ended with the scores level. He proposed that the side with the fewest “red” and “yellow” cards and fewest free kicks conceded should be declared the winner. Instead, football’s decision makers opted for a penalty shoot-out.
Ken Aston qualified as a referee in 1936. He progressed through the leagues with highlights being refereeing the 1961 European Nations Final, at the 1962 World Cup in Chile and the FA Cup Final in 1963. He served on the FIFA Referees Committee for eight years, four of them as Chairman. He was made an MBE in 1997. The Referees’ Association honoured Ken Aston in 1969 with the Long and Meritorious Service Award, in 1986 with the 50 Years Membership Award, and in 1990 Life Membership. He spent the latter years of his life living in the USA where he contributed greatly to the development of football there. He died aged 86 in October 2001.
Source: Daily Gazette