<P> The idea of using language - neutral coloured cards to communicate a referee 's intentions originated in association football , with English referee Ken Aston . Aston had been appointed to the FIFA Referees ' Committee and was responsible for all referees at the 1966 FIFA World Cup . In the quarter finals , England met Argentina at Wembley Stadium . After the match , newspaper reports stated that referee Rudolf Kreitlein had cautioned both Bobby and Jack Charlton , as well as sending off Argentinian Antonio Rattin . The referee had not made his decision clear during the game , and England manager Alf Ramsey approached FIFA for post-match clarification . This incident started Aston thinking about ways to make a referee 's decisions clearer to both players and spectators . Aston realised that a colour - coding scheme based on the same principle as used on traffic lights ( yellow -- stop if safe to do so , red -- stop ) would transcend language barriers and make it clear that a player had been cautioned or expelled . As a result , yellow cards to indicate a caution and red cards to indicate an expulsion were used for the first time in the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico . The use of penalty cards has since been adopted and expanded by several sporting codes , with each sport adapting the idea to its specific set of rules or laws . </P>
<P> The idea of using language - neutral coloured cards to communicate a referee 's intentions originated in association football , with English referee Ken Aston . Aston had been appointed to the FIFA Referees ' Committee and was responsible for all referees at the 1966 FIFA World Cup . In the quarter finals , England met Argentina at Wembley Stadium . After the match , newspaper reports stated that referee Rudolf Kreitlein had cautioned both Bobby and Jack Charlton , as well as sending off Argentinian Antonio Rattin . The referee had not made his decision clear during the game , and England manager Alf Ramsey approached FIFA for post-match clarification . This incident started Aston thinking about ways to make a referee 's decisions clearer to both players and spectators . Aston realised that a colour - coding scheme based on the same principle as used on traffic lights ( yellow -- stop if safe to do so , red -- stop ) would transcend language barriers and make it clear that a player had been cautioned or expelled . As a result , yellow cards to indicate a caution and red cards to indicate an expulsion were used for the first time in the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico . The use of penalty cards has since been adopted and expanded by several sporting codes , with each sport adapting the idea to its specific set of rules or laws . </P>
when was the yellow card introduced in football
when was the yellow card introduced in football
1970
1970