Antonio Ubaldo Rattin, the Argentine soccer midfielder whose confrontation during the 1966 World Cup match against England led to the introduction of the yellow and red card penalty system in the sport, died on July 11 in Vicente López, a suburb of Buenos Aires. He was 89. The Argentine Football Association confirmed his passing but did not disclose the cause or specific location.

Rattin’s most notable moment came during the quarterfinal match at London’s Wembley Stadium, a game marked by intense physicality and longstanding rivalry between Argentina and England. Serving as team captain and standing 6-foot-3, Rattin warned his teammates to prepare for a tough contest. Throughout the match, he expressed frustration over what he perceived as leniency from the referees toward the English players’ physical play.

The controversy arose at the 35-minute mark when German referee Rudolf Kreitlein awarded a penalty kick to England. Rattin, who did not speak German, sought an explanation for the penalty and the lack of fouls called against England’s similar rough play. Kreitlein, unable to communicate in Spanish and interpreting Rattin’s protest as verbal aggression, ejected him from the game citing "violence of the tongue." Rattin initially refused to leave and briefly sat on a red carpet reserved for the queen’s viewing area before being escorted off by police amid jeers and thrown objects from the crowd.

Following the match, Kreitlein stated that he believed Rattin was insulting him based on his facial expressions alone. Rattin later explained he was attempting to show his captain’s armband to the referee, hoping to clarify the penalty decision. Argentina, reduced to ten men, lost to England 1-0. England advanced to the semifinals where they defeated West Germany.

The confusion and communication difficulties surrounding Rattin’s expulsion prompted head referee Ken Aston to develop a clearer disciplinary system for the sport. Drawing inspiration from traffic signals, Aston introduced the now-universal yellow and red card system to visually indicate cautions and expulsions to players and spectators alike.

Despite the contentious nature of that World Cup moment, Rattin’s legacy extends well beyond it. Born May 16, 1937, in Tigre, Argentina, to an Italian immigrant father and a homemaker mother, he began his career in the youth ranks of Boca Juniors and spent his entire professional playing career with the club. Rattin won five national championships with Boca and represented Argentina in two World Cups (1962 and 1966) before retiring in 1970. He also had a brief managerial role in the early 1980s.

After retiring from football, Rattin worked in insurance and entered politics. He served in Argentina’s National Assembly between 2001 and 2005 as a member of the right-wing Federalist Unity Party, later holding local office in Vicente López until 2009.

Though remembered internationally primarily for the 1966 incident, Rattin remained a revered figure in Argentina’s sporting history. Reflecting on the episode years later during a 2000 visit to Britain, he expressed that he had moved past the controversy and valued the warmth he encountered from everyday English citizens at the time. “I always did stand out,” he said, attributing that to his passionate nature and willingness to speak his mind while keeping the on-field incident separate from his broader experiences.