The Fair Play Files # 2
A (Traffic) Light Bulb Moment
Yellow cards are dished out with alarming frequency these days. The idea of any player going their entire career without receiving one — as Gary Lineker famously did (1) — now seems almost unthinkable. Tactical fouls and simulation have pushed the numbers ever higher, and FIFA has responded: at World Cup 2026, yellow cards will be reset twice during the tournament — once after the group stage, and again after the quarter-finals. The message is clear: FIFA wants its best players on the pitch, not sitting in the stands suspended.
The story of how those cards came to exist is a good one. English schoolteacher and referee Ken Aston was frustrated that communication breakdowns in international football were leading to disputes on the pitch(2). He wanted a signal so universal it could leap over any language barrier. Driving home from Wembley in 1966, he stopped at a set of traffic lights — and inspiration struck.
“I thought — yellow, take it easy; red, stop, you’re off,” he later recalled.
Ken’s wife Hilda cut out two card-sized prototypes designed to fit in a pocket. The rest is history.
Fast forward to 2026, and one team stands out as the tournament’s Fair Play exemplars: Japan. After memorably upsetting both Germany and Spain at the 2022 World Cup — and England this year — Japan arrive ranked 18th in the world and expected to advance from Group F. But if results are tight on points, their Fair Play record could prove decisive.
In 2018, Japan and Senegal were level on points, goal difference and goals scored — their head-to-head had even ended 2–2. The tie was decided by Fair Play score, and Japan went through (3). Their supporters have won admirers worldwide too, regularly staying behind after matches to clean the stadiums themselves.
That spirit of respect is nurtured at grassroots level as well, where junior football uses a Green Card system (4) to reward players for respectful behaviour — planting values long before the yellow and red ones come into play.
With 12 groups and the best eight third-placed teams also advancing this year, Fair Play could once again prove the difference between going home early and going all the way.
1. Peter Shilton likewise remained yellow card free in his career, but was sent off as Plymouth's player manager vs Hull in 1992. He was 42 years old.
2. Ken famously refereed the most violent World Cup game in history — Chile vs Italy in 1962, the infamous "Battle of Santiago" — with armed police entering the field four times. The first to escort Giorgio Ferrini off the pitch after an 8th minute red card, and a further three to restore order.
3. Japan received 4 yellow cards across the group stages against Senegal's 6.
4. Green cards are shown in occasion of following behaviours.
- Compassion for injured players.
- Apologies and handshakes in case of not intended fouls.
- Self-assessment (when the ball crosses the lines: throw-ins, corner kicks, goal-kicks, goals)
- Prevent team mates from behaving problematically.
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Behave positively, without receiving warnings nor being expelled.
( The referee will show the card to the team's bench when blowing the final whistle)
https://classicfootballshirtscollection.com/which-footballers-have-never-been-booked/
https://mrballcontrol.com/ken-aston-the-most-famous-man-in-the-middle/
https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/mar/04/stunning-moments-no4-battle-of-santiago
https://www.jfa.jp/eng/respect/declaration/