The History of FA Cup Red Cards
Fulham saw two players and their manager sent off in a dramatic FA Cup quarter final as Bruno Fernandes scored an added-time winner to send Manchester United through. But that frenzied sequence was not without precedent.
Unlike in league matches, yellow cards issued in the FA Cup don’t carry over into Premier League games. So what does this mean for clubs?
The origins of the red card
Football fans have long been used to seeing goals and shock results in the FA Cup, but the handing out of red cards is a bit more recent. In fact, these infamous pieces of colored paper only became part of the English game in 1976. Since then, FA Cup Red Cards have become moments of controversy, drama, and lasting debate, adding another layer of intensity to the tournament.
The idea behind them came from referee Ken Aston, who was driving through London and saw a set of traffic lights. Those yellow and red colors set off an inspiration in him, and he presented the idea to FIFA.
By 1987, the International Football Association Board, which is in charge of introducing rules to the world of football, decided that England was out of step with the rest of the world and should re-introduce cards. Luton Town forward Mick Harford was the first player to receive a red card after they were reintroduced into the game. This sent him off just four minutes into the first match of the season.
The first red card in a league match
The game cannot be imagined without yellow and red cards – they are the very fabric of football, helping us to discuss and debate the severity of certain offences. They have also shaped the history of English clubs and their rivalries.
Mick Harford was the first player shown a red card after they were reintroduced into the league on 15 August 1987, as Luton Town lost to Derby County. He had kicked Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta in the head, leaving the Frenchman with a laceration that required 25 stitches to close.
The rules around yellow and red cards have changed a bit since then. Currently, bans are competition-specific. If a player picks up two yellow cards in the FA Cup or Carabao Cup, they will miss their next match in that competition (although these are wiped clean at the quarter-final stage). The same applies to UEFA and international games. However, Premier League players can still be sent off in the cups and then serve a suspension that carries over into their league fixture.
The first red card in a cup match
When Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon lashed out at Jan Paul van Hecke in the FA Cup fifth round, referee Anthony Taylor had no hesitation in showing him a straight red card. That means he will serve a three-match ban for violent conduct.
But the rules for yellow and red cards are different in the cups, with bans being competition-specific. If a player picks up two yellows in the same cup campaign, they will serve a suspension at their next match in that competition, but the slate is wiped after the quarter-final stage.
However, a red-card dismissal in the Cups can carry over to the Premier League if it comes during a match between teams from the same domestic competition. That’s how goalkeeper Nick Pope missed the 2023 Carabao Cup final after being sent off in his club’s Premier League match against Liverpool. That is why this season’s cup final between Manchester City and Newcastle could be a bit more tense than normal.
The first red card in a cup final
Chris Smalling's red card against Crystal Palace last month made Manchester United the first club to have a player dismissed in a Cup final. It wasn't the only time that a red card contributed to a team losing at Wembley, with other examples including Luis Suarez's handball in the 2010 World Cup and Marcel Desailly's dismissal in the 1998 final.
It is unlikely that Newcastle's Anthony Gordon will miss the League Cup final against Liverpool after his straight red against Brighton & Hove Albion. The winger was sent off for pushing Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke in the face, a dismissal that will rule him out of the Wembley showpiece.
At the World Cup, five teams have had a player sent off in a final, with Zinedine Zidane headbutting Marco Materazzi in the 116th minute of his last match making history as the first person to lose a final after being dismissed. However, unlike in English competitions where yellow cards count across all domestic matches, the red cards shown during the quarter-final stage are wiped clean.
