Why Argentina wore black armbands during their World Cup match
Argentina wore black armbands to honor a player involved in a famous incident during a match against England. The two countries will face each other again on Wednesday at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, renewing one of the strongest rivalries in international football.
This will be their first match since a tense 2005 friendly and their sixth meeting in the World Cup. The most well-known moment is the 1986 quarter-final with Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal. England also remembers the 1998 round of 16 when they lost on penalties after David Beckham was sent off. Beckham made up for that in 2002 by scoring a penalty in a 1-0 group-stage win, marking England’s third World Cup victory over Argentina.
Back in 1966, England beat Argentina in the quarter-final on their way to winning the World Cup, but the match included a controversial red card for Argentina’s captain Antonio Rattin. He was sent off after arguing with German referee Rudolf Kreitlein, who had given England a penalty 35 minutes into the game.
Rattin didn’t speak German and the referee didn’t understand Spanish, but the referee said he sent Rattin off for “violence of the tongue” because he felt insulted. Rattin refused to leave for nearly 10 minutes, walking to the sideline and sitting on a red carpet placed for Queen Elizabeth II.
As The New York Times reported, Rattin stayed in the enclosed area for a few minutes before two policemen escorted him away. Fans threw Aero chocolate bars at him, which he ate, and he upset the crowd further by crumpling a corner flag with the Union Jack, which led to beer cans being thrown his way.
Adding to the strange events, a Shetland pony, acting as the team mascot, blocked Rattin’s path to the tunnel. Years later, Rattin told the BBC, “When I got to the corner, I twisted the English flag and insulted them. Then I went over to the carpet the Queen used to enter the stadium and sat there for about five minutes. It was a very nice red carpet.”
After the game, Rattin went sightseeing in London but was later given a four-game suspension. His red card was important because it led to the introduction of yellow and red cards, an idea inspired by a traffic light system created by referee Ken Aston.
Rattin played 34 times for Argentina and 382 games for Boca Juniors, where he spent his entire club career and won five league titles. After retiring in 1970, he had a brief time as a manager, worked in insurance, and served as an MP for the right-wing Federalist Unity party for four years.
He passed away at age 89 on July 11, and Argentina were allowed to wear black armbands during their 3-1 quarter-final win over Switzerland. Boca Juniors called him “an idol and symbol of our institution” in a message announcing his death.