It’s not easy to go your entire professional career without getting a yellow card from the referee, but Liverpool’s record signing has done just that.
Disciplinary measures in the form of yellow or red cards were not introduced until 1976, after England made their World Cup debut in 1970. In the past, referees gave verbal warnings to players and coaches, and players were only sent off if told to do so. As you can imagine, the players quickly lost their hearing.
The introduction of the yellow card system changed the game and now it is almost impossible to watch a match without being booked and sent off. But Ian Callaghan was not one to worry as he picked up just one yellow card in 873 appearances for Liverpool over the age of 18.Although his time at Anfield was largely achieved by bringing in cautions, he was never sent off and only received one yellow card, against Nottingham Forest in 1978.
Ian Callaghan Liverpool Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool 15 April 1963 The first League Cup final, drawn 0–0, was the exception to Callaghan’s perfect record.Referee Pat Partridge booked Callaghan in a 1-0 defeat to Forest after Peter Wee’s tackle. “I remember it well,” said Callaghan, recalling the incident in Liverpool. It was a second leg in the League Cup against Nottingham Forest. “We drew at Wembley and the replay was at Old Trafford.
Pat Partridge was the referee and he awarded a penalty to Phil Thompson which was a terrible decision. “He caught a guy about a meter from the box, a guy went down in the box and gave them a penalty and hurt us. “Then I played ball with Scouser Peter Wee. Anyway, we both went to play ball and he was a tall guy and I grabbed his chest.
I think everyone was surprised when they heard my name.“It was unfortunate and has been a hot topic ever since. “I think Liverpool tried to beat him at that point but couldn’t.”He received a yellow card and Callaghan is later credited with only one yellow card in his career, but his legacy clearly extends far beyond his disciplinary record.
A professional and a gentleman, the Scouser is the club’s all-time record holder, making a legendary 857 appearances and winning 13 pieces of silverware during his 18 years at his boyhood club.
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