Most red cards in Fifa World Cup history
As of 20 June 2026
Illustration: Ashrafun Naher Ananna/TBS Creative
The booking system was devised by English referee Ken Aston, then chairman of Fifa's Referees' Committee, after the controversial England-Argentina quarter-final at the 1966 World Cup highlighted the difficulties of communicating disciplinary decisions across language barriers. Inspired by London's traffic lights, Aston developed the yellow and red card system, which was introduced at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.
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