First yellow card?

[Partick Thistle]

When did the refs start flashing Yellow and Red cards in the Scottish game?

Seems Mexico 70 was the worldwide launch and the English Football League followed suit in 1976-77.

[Partick Thistle]

Didn't think this would be so difficult.

From video evidence I've been able to establish that they were NOT in place by 1978-79.

They ARE in place by 1982-83.

Work in progress...


August 20 1977 Ayr Utd v Celtic

Bob Cuthill sends off Johnny Doyle. And whit a total muppet for doing so.

Anyway, points to the tunnel, no card on show.

http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/celt ... l-history/


May 21 1979 Celtic 4 Rangers 2

Johnny Doyle sent off, again no card is shown, ref points to tunnel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H64BOxqZh6Y


October 1 1980

Politechna 1 Celtic 0

Herald report following day metions red card for Frank McGarvey.

October 11 1980
Frank McGarvey "ordered to the pavillion" according to the Times. He seems to have been in a bit of a mood this October.

^ Presumably, the yellows and reds are used in European football but possibly not yet in our domestic game.


9 Oct 1982 Danny McGrain (Celtic) v Aberdeen

"Red Card As Celts Fall" is press headline

http://www.thecelticwiki.com/page/1982- ... r+Division


22 January 1983

Rangers John McDonald sent off v Aberdeen. Red card clearly shown.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q= ... 0519,d.ZGU

[Partick Thistle]

Problem with this query was that sports writers seemed to be a bit slow to embrace reds and yellows into their phrasing and seemed to stick to their established terms such as "received his marching orders", "was ordered from the field" and "had his name taken". Got there eventually though - it was season 1979-80...



18 August 1979
Rangers v Celtic
Above photo was in the Sunday Mail and was found on the excellent Celtic Wiki. ET says: "Roy Aitken was sent off following a fierce foul on Ally Dawson... the referee had no hesitation in showing Aitken the red card."

[Scottish]

"Roy Aitken was sent off following a fierce foul on Ally Dawson... the referee had no hesitation in showing Aitken the red card."

That's a yellow in the photo. Maybe he got that one for the hairstyle.

[Partick Thistle]

Nah, it's a red, albeit a bit peely wally in the reproduction, the Mail's supporting text is cut off a bit, but you make out the words "early bath". And the refs pointing him off the field mon!
http://www.thecelticwiki.com/page/1979- ... -+Pictures

[Partick Thistle]

Och, baws!

No card, Scottish Cup Final 19th May 1984...



Seems we may have followed the English lead (apparently for a period between the 1980/81 and 1987/88 season they never used cards down South) and our refs went on card hiatus for a season, namely 1983-84. There's plenty evidence for card usage either side of that season in Scotland.

Hopefully that's the Scottish story square now? Could do with a second opinion.

[Skyline Drifter]

I'm pretty sure I remember a period in the 80's when it was decided that they wouldn't show actual cards, having done so in the past. Seem to recall it didn't last long before they were back to showing cards again but I wouldn't have a clue exactly when it happened. 83/84 is in the right time frame though.

[Scottish]

I'm pretty sure I remember a period in the 80's when it was decided that they wouldn't show actual cards, having done so in the past.

Unless we're experiencing morphic resonanace, that's my recollection as well.

[Snuff]

The use of the words: "red card" and "yellow card" in headlines and sub-headings does not mean an actual card was shown.

Sub-editors, who write the headlines, are great employers of forms of shorthand, to get the message across in a given space.

For instance, I keep reading stories of rugby XV captains: "wearing the captain's arm-band". In 55-years' involvement with rugby, as player, club official, Scotland supporter and writer, I have NEVER seen a team captain wearing an arm-band, but, this doesn't stop the expression being used in rugby reports.

[Scottish]

True. And I've yet to see anyone given their "marching orders" do anything other than trudge slowly and resentfully from the pitch. As for an "early bath..........."

[Scottish]

Sub-editors, who write the headlines, are great employers of forms of shorthand, to get the message across in a given space.

This is probably the first time anything of interest to my wife has appeared on this site. She will be delighted with that.

[the hibLOG]

I'm pretty sure I remember a period in the 80's when it was decided that they wouldn't show actual cards, having done so in the past. Seem to recall it didn't last long before they were back to showing cards again but I wouldn't have a clue exactly when it happened. 83/84 is in the right time frame though.

I remember this too, and I seem to recall that the rationale was that the brandishing of cards was in some way inflammatory, whether to players or fans I'm not sure.

[LEATHERSTOCKING]

Never mind cards, who was the first player sent off in Scotland? Queen`s Park had a player sent off in 1894-95 season(probably ordered into a darkened room with a bottle of whisky & a pearl handled pistol) but there must have been earlier reprobates.

[Partick Thistle]

I seem to recall that the rationale was that the brandishing of cards was in some way inflammatory, whether to players or fans I'm not sure.

Ah, thanks for this, was wondering. The thinking of 30 years ago almost seems quaint already...

Never mind cards, who was the first player sent off in Scotland? Queen`s Park had a player sent off in 1894-95 season(probably ordered into a darkened room with a bottle of whisky & a pearl handled pistol) but there must have been earlier reprobates.

Sending offs back in those rough n tumble days seem to have been few and far between, I'd be surprised if there were more than two or three per club per decade on average. Ayrshire riff-raff would bolster the average no doubt...

26.09.1891 Partick Thistle 0 Hurlford 3 (Scottish Cup 2nd Preliminary Round)

Cosgrove of Hurlford, 1891-92, sounds like a piece of work. Both he and Thomas Campbell of Thistle were ordered off in the above mentioned tussle - the first instance I know of where a Thistle player's met such a fate.

"At the disciplinary meeting after the game, the referee accused both players of fighting. Campbell responded by saying that he had never been accused of rough play before, and if it had not been for his smartness in avoiding Cosgrove’s butting head he would have been carried off the field, Cosgrove denied butting, but admitted charging. Both players were censured." ~ ptearlyyears.net

[ScottishFA]

The option to order players off seems to date from the mid 1880s.

From a search in BNA, the earliest I can find anywhere is a Derby County player called Williamson for kicking Cursham of Notts County in April 1886 and there are one or two more that year before the FA decreed in November that the referee had power to send off a player for foul play.

The first I can find in Scotland is from March 1888, when Law of Falkirk was sent off for kicking an opponent, against Vale of Bannock in a Stirlingshire Cup semi-final.

I wrote about one incident from December 1888: http://www.scottishsporthistory.com/spo ... ll-in-1888

No doubt there are earlier cases!