There are few footballers who can afford to leave such a deep mark on the rules of football as Antonio Rattín. The former Argentine defender passed away this Saturday at the age of 89, but his legacy transcends his successful career as he was the protagonist of an episode that prompted FIFA to incorporate yellow and red cards to avoid confusion between referees and players.
It all happened in the quarter-finals of the 1966 World Cup in England, when the Argentine National Team faced the home team at Wembley Stadium, in front of about 90,000 spectators.
Captain of the Albiceleste, Rattín repeatedly questioned the decisions of the German referee Rudolf Kreitlein, whom he accused of favoring the English team.
The conflict escalated when the player tried to talk to the referee to contest some calls. However, the language barrier proved decisive, Kreitlein did not speak Spanish and Rattín did not understand German either.
Faced with the inability to communicate, the referee interpreted the Argentine's attitude as a lack of respect and decided to send him off. At that time, there were still no yellow or red cards, so he simply gestured for him to leave the field.
"After 15 minutes, I asked for an interpreter because he was calling everything in favor of England. He sent me off. He said out, out, he kicked me out. The match was suspended for about 25 to 30 minutes. FIFA officials entered the field, I sat on the Queen's red carpet to watch 10 minutes of football. Then I went to the locker room and, when I passed by the corner flag, I twisted the English flag that was waving. I insulted them, they threw beer cans at me," Rattín recalled.
