Ken Aston facts for kids
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| Full name | Kenneth George Aston | ||
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| Born | 1 September 1915 Colchester, Essex, England |
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| Died | 23 October 2001 (aged 86) Ilford, London, England |
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| Other occupation | School teacher, soldier, judge | ||
Kenneth George Aston (born September 1, 1915 – died October 23, 2001) was an English teacher and soldier. He is best known as a football referee who changed the game forever. He came up with many important ideas for refereeing. His most famous invention is the yellow and red penalty card system. This system helps everyone understand when a player has been warned or sent off.
Contents
Early Life and Start in Football
Ken Aston was born in Colchester, England. He went to St Luke's College in Exeter. After college, he became a qualified referee in 1936. He worked his way up through different football leagues. By the 1949–50 season, he was a Football League linesman. Soon after, he became a League referee.
During the Second World War, Ken Aston joined the Royal Artillery. Later, he moved to the British Indian Army. He finished the war as a lieutenant-colonel. He also helped with important legal cases after the war.
Refereeing Innovations
When Ken Aston returned from the war in 1946, he brought new ideas to football. He was the first League referee to wear a black uniform with white trim. Before him, referees wore tweed jackets and different pants. He found a black flight jacket with many pockets. He thought it would be perfect for holding his refereeing tools. So, he started wearing black pants, a white shirt, and the new black jacket. This look became the standard for referees.
Bright Flags for Linesmen
In 1947, Aston introduced brightly coloured flags for linesmen. He used one yellow flag and one red flag. Before this, linesmen used flags that matched the home team's colours. One foggy day in London, Ken Aston couldn't see the beige and chocolate flags of the home team. On his way home, he bought red and yellow rain slickers. He used them to make bright flags. These new flags made it much easier to see signals, even in bad weather.
In 1953, Ken Aston became the Head Teacher at Newbury Park Primary School in Ilford. He continued to referee important League matches. He also taught many courses for new referees. He called his teaching series "Refereeing is thinking."
Ken Aston refereed the 1963 FA Cup Final. He also refereed the famous "Battle of Santiago" match. This was a very tough game between Chile and Italy in the 1962 World Cup.
FIFA Committee Work
After the 1962 World Cup, Ken Aston stopped refereeing games. He had hurt his Achilles Tendon. However, he joined the FIFA Referees' Committee. He was a member for eight years and led the committee for four of those years. He was in charge of all referees for the 1966, 1970, and 1974 World Cups.
More Important Changes
In 1966, Aston also started the idea of having a substitute referee. This person could take over if the main referee couldn't continue. This idea later grew into having a fourth official at matches.
He also suggested that the air pressure of the football should be clearly stated in the Laws of the Game. In 1974, he introduced the number board for substitutes. This made it easy for everyone to see which player was leaving the field and who was coming on. His efforts helped make refereeing more consistent and fair, starting with the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.
The Famous Red and Yellow Cards
The idea for red and yellow cards came from an event at the 1966 World Cup. During a match between England and Argentina, an English player named Jack Charlton was given a warning by the German referee. Charlton was confused because he didn't know he had been booked. He called the press office where Ken Aston was working.
That evening, as Aston was driving home, he thought about Charlton's confusion. When he stopped at a traffic light, he had a brilliant idea. Traffic lights use amber/yellow for "prepare to stop" and red for "stop." He realized that a similar colour system could work for football. It would be easy for players and fans from any country to understand. A yellow card would mean a warning, and a red card would mean a player had to leave the game.
Aston later explained the idea to his wife, Hilda. She quickly made two cards out of coloured paper that fit into his shirt pocket. This simple idea became the yellow card for a caution and the red card for a sending-off. These cards were first used in the 1970 World Cup.
The red and yellow card system has been so successful that other sports have adopted it too. You can now see them used in rugby, water polo, and other sports.
Later Life and Legacy
After his work with FIFA, Ken Aston became a senior lecturer for the Football Association Referees' Panel. He also became the Chief Instructor for the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO). He held this position for 21 years. In 1997, he was given the MBE honour for his great contributions.
Today, the Ken Aston Camp is held every year in Orange, California. This camp honours Ken's dedication to helping others and his high standards. The Ken Aston Cup was also an annual competition for skilled referees in AYSO. Ken and his wife Hilda often attended the camp and competition. They would drive around in a golf cart with a Union Jack flag, watching games and meeting new people.
Images for kids
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Ken Aston, the inventor of red and yellow cards.
See also
In Spanish: Ken Aston para niños
