<P> Before the introduction of the whistle , referees indicated their decisions by waving a white handkerchief . The whistles that were first adopted by referees were made by Joseph Hudson at Mills Munitions in Birmingham , England . The Acme Whistle Company ( based at Mills Munitions Factory ) first began to mass - produce pea whistles in the 1870s for the Metropolitan Police Force . It is frequently stated the referee 's whistle was first used in a game between Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Norfolk in 1878 ; however the last such fixture known to have taken place between the two clubs was in 1874 . The Nottingham Forest account book of 1872 apparently recorded the purchase of an `` umpire 's whistle '' and in 1928 an article by RM Ruck about his playing days in the early 1870s referred to the use of a whistle by umpires to indicate an infringement . </P>
<P> Before the introduction of the whistle , referees indicated their decisions by waving a white handkerchief . The whistles that were first adopted by referees were made by Joseph Hudson at Mills Munitions in Birmingham , England . The Acme Whistle Company ( based at Mills Munitions Factory ) first began to mass - produce pea whistles in the 1870s for the Metropolitan Police Force . It is frequently stated the referee 's whistle was first used in a game between Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Norfolk in 1878 ; however the last such fixture known to have taken place between the two clubs was in 1874 . The Nottingham Forest account book of 1872 apparently recorded the purchase of an `` umpire 's whistle '' and in 1928 an article by RM Ruck about his playing days in the early 1870s referred to the use of a whistle by umpires to indicate an infringement . </P>
what did uk soccer officials use before whistles
what did uk soccer officials use before whistles
a white handkerchief
a white handkerchief