Red Card Blues Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1974 World Cup

The use of brightly colored red and yellow cards to signify penalties in football seems as if it has been part of the game forever. Certainly the concept of certain violations requiring a player to be ejected from a match has been part of football's rules since inception. However, it was not until the 1970s that referees were given the red and yellow cards. The card system was the invention of English football referee Ken Aston. Ashton was the head referee for the 1966 World Cup as a member of the FIFA Referees Committee. Ashton wanted to create a system for referees to communicate with players, coaches and fans that were not subject to language limitations or misinterpretation. Ashton modeled the card system on the traffic light pattern of yellow/caution and red/stop.

The card system was in use for the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. However, no player was issued a red card during the event. It was not until the 1974 World Cup group play match between Chile and West Germany that Chilean player Carlos Caszely was shown the red card and ejected from the game. Chile went on to lose the match 1-0.

Answer: Vinnie Jones

Welshman Vinnie Jones carved out a movie and television career as an enforcer and tough guy appearing in movies such as "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", "X-Men The Last Stand" and as a football hooligan in 2004's "Eurotrip". However before becoming an actor, Jones was a real football tough guy earning a reputation as one of football's "hardest" players. Jones played top level football in the English league from 1986-1998. He was a bruising midfielder for FC Wimbledon, Chelsea, Leeds and Sheffield United, before ending his career at QPR. Jones scored 33 goals in 386 league matches and international play, but more importantly he was ejected 12 times over that span.

Jones is credited with the dubious record of the "fastest" yellow card in English league history receiving a booking after only three seconds into a match between Chelsea and Sheffield United in 1992. Perhaps even more infamous than that feat was the penalty Jones got away with during an FA Cup match between Wimbledon and Newcastle United in 1987. During a moment in the match, Jones reached behind and grabbed Newcastle player Paul Gascoigne's testicles. While Jones was not shown a red card, the incident was made part of football lore as a photographer snapped a shot at exactly the right moment.

Answer: Scotland

Red cards can come anytime and often affect the outcome of games. In the 1986 World Cup Uruguay faced Scotland in a group play match. Just 56 seconds into play, Uruguayan defender Jose Batista made a vicious tackle on Scotland's star striker Gordon Strachan. Batista was shown a red card and ejected from the game requiring Uruguay to play with only ten men. Scotland needed a goal and a win to advance out of the group play. Nonetheless, despite the man advantage for over 90 minutes the Scots could not score, and Uruguay advanced to the round of 16.

Gordon Strachan, the Scottish player, fouled by Batista in the 1986 match was appointed Scottish National team manager in 2013.

Answer: Kicked a fan who was heckling him as he left the pitch

Maybe the real culprit here is Eric Cantona's martial arts instructor, who failed to inform Eric that it was bad to kick people. Cantona was fiery and often aggressive forward for Manchester United, who scored 64 goals in a magical five-year stint at Old Trafford from 1992-1996. Cantona was red carded in six Premier League games out of the 143 games he played for United. During Cantona's run, he helped Manchester United capture four Premier League titles and two FA Cups. However, the run could have been even more impressive but for the events at Crystal Palace in January 1995.

During the match between United and Crystal Palace, Palace defender Richard Shaw grabbed Cantona's shirt to slow the speedy forward down. Cantona took offense and kicked Shaw. As is often the case, the referee saw the retaliation and not the offense and issues a red card to Cantona. As Cantona was walking towards the locker room, a Crystal Palace fan shouted obscenities at the Frenchman. Cantona bolted eleven rows into the crowd and delivered a "karate" kick to the fan followed by several rapid punches. Cantona was suspended from the League for eight months and convicted of assault on the fan. Manchester United failed to win the league title by a single point.

Answer: They were both playing for Newcastle

Never forget that fact is stranger than fiction. English Premier League Newcastle United teammates Keiron Dyer and Lee Bower apparently were not very "united", at least, on April 2, 2005. In the match against Aston Villa Dyer and Bower were midfielders for Newcastle. During the match, Bower became upset that Dyer did not pass him the ball. Bower asked Dyer why he never passed him the ball, and Dyer responded with statements that colorfully told Bower that Dyer did not think Bower was very good. After exchanging further pleasantries, Bower proceeded to start hitting Dyer, and the two descended into a brawl.

The referee after some delay issued red cards for fighting to both men. The action left Newcastle with only eight men on the pitch as another player had already been sent off. Seriously outmanned, Newcastle lost the game 3-0. Dyer received a three-game suspension and Bower four games and was fined six weeks wages for his actions. Years later, Dyer and Bower admitted how foolish the fight was and stated that they had since become good friends.

Answer: The red card followed Simuniæ's third yellow card

Football's card discipline system is actually quite simple. You can get a red card and thus ejected for committing a major penalty. A yellow card is a warning issued for less severe infractions. If you receive two yellow cards, that equals one red card, and the player goes off the pitch. At least that is the way it is supposed to work.

In the 2006 World Cup Match between Croatia and Australia, Croatian forward Josip Simuniæ received a yellow car in the 61st minute. Later in the 89th minute the yellow card went up again for Simuniæ. Simuniæ expected to see the red card and be ejected, but, to everyone's surprise, a signal for play on came instead. Simuniæ played for another four minutes before earning his third yellow card that finally brought a red card and ejection. The embarrassed referee explained that he wrote the wrong number in his book and did not realize the second yellow was to the same player. The mistake cost the referee any chance of being selected to officiate at any more 2006 World Cup games.

Answer: Goalkeeper

Goalkeepers can get red cards, and the impact on their team is multiplied two-fold. A goalie issued a red card will be ejected from the game and normally face at least an additional one-game suspension. However, the team is allowed to place a substitute in goal, but must then remove another player of its choice so to enforce the "man down" penalty. Thus, a goalie red card costs the team two of their starting players.

Joe Nasco started in goal for the Colorado Rapid team on September 5, 2014, in a game against the Los Angeles Galaxy. Thirty-four seconds into the game Nasco tripped Galaxy forward Alan Gordon during the Galaxy's first scoring chance. Nasco was red carded and ejected. US star forward Landon Donovan converted the penalty kick, and the Galaxy went on to a 6-0 route.

Answer: Overtime ended and Japan won on penalty kicks

The 2011 Women's World Cup finals between the USA and Japan ended regulation in a 1-1 tie. The FIFA World Cup rules require the teams to play two 15 minute overtime periods. The overtime is not played to the first score and essentially means that the teams will play an additional thirty minutes plus stoppage. During the first overtime period, US star Abby Wambach scored at minute 104. However during the second overtime Japan answered with a 117-minute goal from Sawa. Only a few seconds left in the game the US attacked and might have scored except for a hard foul by Iwashimiza. The foul was determined to be just outside the penalty box, and the US could not convert the free kick. Sadly for the US team, the red card and ejection issued to Iwashimiza came too late, and the match went to penalty kicks where Japan outkicked the US to claim the title.

Answer: Ripped the pages of the referee's notebook

Clint Dempsey is one of the US's best football players. He also has a volatile and obviously uncontrollable temper. In the fourth round match of the 2015 US Open Cup (the US equivalent of the FA Cup) Dempsey was playing for his team, the Seattle Sounders, against another MLS rival, the Portland Timber. During the match Seattle player, Michael Azari, was shown a red card for a questionable tackle on a Timber player. Dempsey, supporting his teammate, started to argue with the referee that the penalty was unjustified. To make matters worse two other Seattle players had already left the game one by ejection and the other in a stretcher. Nonetheless, Dempsey decided to show his displeasure towards the referee by grabbing his notebook and tearing the paper to shreds. The referee, even without his notebook, was able to locate his red card to have Dempsey ejected from the game.

Dempsey's ejection left Seattle with just seven men in a 1-1 tie game. Needless to say, Portland was able to rally and win the game 3-1 with the four man advantage. For his tantrum, Dempsey was suspended for six future Cup matches and was also fined and suspended for three games by the MLS. No word on whether the penalties included buying the referee a new notebook.

Answer: Coaches can't get red cards

FIFA and by extension association football rules do not permit the issuance of red cards to managers. Only players and substitutes may be issued red (or for that matter yellow) cards. However, this is a technical point as the referee does have the power to eject unruly coaches or team officials without having to show the card. An example of a coaching ejection occurred during the 2015 Women's World Cup. Chinese coach, Hao Wei, was ejected after touching the ball on the sidelines and impeding the ability of a New Zealand player to quickly throw the ball into play.