Ken Aston

Kenneth George "Ken" Aston, MBE, (1 September 1915 - 23 October 2001) was an English teacher, soldier, and football referee, who was responsible for many important developments in football refereeing.

War Service

Born in Colchester, Essex, he graduated from St Lukes' College, Exeter (in which George Reader had been taught just after the First World War). He qualified as a referee in 1936, working his way through the leagues becoming a Football League linesman in the 1949-50 season, and becoming a League referee. In the Second World War he was rejected by the Royal Air Force because of an injured ankle, and subsequently joined the Royal Artillery before transferring to the British Indian Army where he finished the war with the rank of lieutenant-colonel and served on the Changi War Crimes Tribunal.

Refereeing

On his return from military service in 1946, he became the first League referee to wear the black uniform with white trim which became the standard for referees. The following year he introduced bright yellow linesmen's flags in place of the pennants in the colours of the home team which had been used before. In 1953 he became head teacher at Newbury Park School, London, and progressed to refereeing senior League matches.

Battle of Santiago

He refereed the 1960 European Nations Cup final and the 1963 FA Cup Final, but he is best known for refereeing the notorious "Battle of Santiago", the match between Chile and Italy in the 1962 World Cup. The atmosphere of this match had been inflamed by Italian journalists' derogatory descriptions of the beauty and morals of Chilean womanhood, of the condition of the Chilean capital, and by the Chileans' dislike of the Italian practice of using South American players with Italian passports.

The match got off to a vigorous start, with the first player cautioned within seconds of the game beginning. After 12 minutes Italy's Giorgio Ferrini had to be escorted off the field by Aston and armed policemen, who were required twice more later in the match, for hacking down the Chilean centre-forward, Landa. Later, Aston sent off David for a retaliatory kick at the head of the Chilean outside-left, Leonel Sánchez, although Sánchez himself was allowed to stay on the pitch despite breaking the nose of the Argentine-born Italian inside-right, Humberto Maschio, with a left hook.

FIFA Referees' Committee

Aston did not referee any more games in the 1962 World Cup, having strained his Achilles tendon, but he was appointed to the FIFA Referees Committee for 8 years, chairing it for 4 years. He was in charge of all referees for the 1966, 1970, and 1974 World Cups.

Red and Yellow Cards

Following an incident in the England vs Argentina match in the 1966 World Cup, it came to Aston's knowledge that Jack Charlton had been booked by the German referee, Rudolf Kreitlin. Charlton called the press office, where Aston was ensconced (as Head of World Cup Referees), in order to confirm the information that he had read within the newspaper that Kreitlin had booked him. Aston, returning from Wembley Stadium to Lancaster Gate that same evening, had Charlton's confusion in mind during the journey.

On the trip, punctuated by many traffic lights, Aston realised that a colour coding scheme on the same amber(steady) - red(stop) principle as used on traffic lights would traverse language barriers and clarify to players and spectators that they had been cautioned or expelled. Thus was devised the system whereby referees show a yellow card for a caution and a red card for an expulsion, which was first used in the 1970 World Cup. In 1966 Aston also introduced the practice of naming a referee who could take over in the case of the referee being unable to continue for any reason (this eventually evolved into the practice of having a designated fourth official). He also successfully proposed that the pressure of the ball should be specified in the Laws of the Game. In 1974 he introduced the number board for substitutes, so that players can easily see who is being substituted.

Later career

Aston became senior lecturer of the Football Association Referees' Panel and chief instructor for the American Youth Soccer Organisation. In 1997, he was awarded the MBE "for services to U.S. soccer".

External links

* [http://www.kenaston.org/ Ken Aston Referee Society memorial page]
* [http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/developing/refereeing/news/newsid=80623.html "Ken Aston – the inventor of yellow and red cards"] : Article at FIFA.com