Why a circle red card was used during Brentford 1-1 Wolves in the FA Cup

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·6 January 2024

Why a circle red card was used during Brentford 1-1 Wolves in the FA Cup

Highlights

Referee Tony Harrington used a circular red card to signal João Gomes' dismissal in a recent FA Cup match between Brentford and Wolves.
Circular red cards serve two purposes: they help colour-blind players and viewers identify the punishment, and they help referees quickly differentiate between yellow and red cards.
The circular red card is not commonly used, but it has been seen before, such as in a previous FA Cup match between Wrexham and Sheffield United.

The 'magic of the cup' often refers to those wonderful, memorable moments in the FA Cup where we get to witness giant killings. Fourth-tier Wrexham beating First Division champions Arsenal 2-1 in the 1992 Third Round springs to mind as one of many brilliant examples of a major upset.

But fans were treated to a different sort of magic in January 2024 when Brentford played host to Wolves. No, the game wasn't a classic. It ended 1-1 with Neal Maupay opening the scoring before Tommy Doyle blasted home an admittedly fantastic equaliser. Bees' manager Thomas Frank even called draw the "worst outcome in every aspect" as a replay will now have to take place amid some heavy fixture congestion.

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João Gomes sent off vs Brentford

Round red card used

Rather than the football, it was actually something that referee Tony Harrington did that caught the eye. And we're not just talking about the questionable decision to send off João Gomes after just nine minutes for catching Brentford's Christian Norgaard with his studs a little high, despite later allowing Mikkel Damsgaard to get away with a similar foul. Instead, it was that he produced a round card to signal the dismissal, as opposed to the usual rectangular shape.

Regardless of the shape of the card, Gomes will be upset to have been sent off as he will now likely miss his club's next three games with a suspension. This could be reduced, however, if Wolves can successfully appeal the sending-off.

At least his teammates fought well enough to keep their cup ambitions alive as they sealed a home replay despite being reduced to ten men inside the opening 10 minutes of the game. But why was a circular card used at all in this FA Cup match?

Referees sometimes use circle red cards

It helps colour-blind players

It's a pretty unusual sight to see a referee produce a round red card but we have seen it before. For instance, in January 2023, a referee showed a circular red card during the Wrexham vs Sheffield United FA Cup match, which ended in a 3-3 draw.

The use of circular red cards serves two purposes. First, it can help players who are colour-blind identify what punishment has been dished out – this also helps viewers at home if they struggle with the same disorder. But it's also handy for referees when they reach into their pocket. If they feel a rectangular shape, they will immediately know that this is a yellow card and can either produce that or reach for the alternative card if they want to hand out a red.

As per The Indian Express, a referee's chat forum explained all this after Wrexham's thrilling draw with Sheffield United last year, saying:

"The circular and oval cards were originally introduced to 'assist' players who couldn’t differentiate between the colours. It was also to help the referee who wanted to pull out the quick card, the shape telling him which card he was pulling out.”