World Cup 2026: How do yellow and red cards work?

Every four years a new set of fans unfamiliar with the sport of soccer (or football, in most parts of the world) settles in for a month consuming "The Beautiful Game." Inevitably, questions arise when a referee reaches into his front or back pocket and pulls out a card. The origin story actually involves a traffic light. As the inventor of the card system, Ken Aston, says of his attempts to develop a tiered, cautionary punishment system: "As I drove down Kensington High Street, the traffic light