In the Qatar World Cup quarter-final match between Argentina and the Netherlands, a whopping 18 yellow cards came out, setting the record for the most ever in a single match.
Argentina won 4-3 in a penalty shootout after drawing 2-2 in the quarterfinals of the tournament against the Netherlands held at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar in the first and second half and 120 minutes until extra time.
In a match that lasted over 120 minutes, Laos referee Antonio Mateu of Spain showed 18 yellow cards and one red card to both players and coaching staff.
The Laos referee, who had already warned four times by the 45th minute of the first half, issued a fifth yellow card to Baut Wechhorst for protesting the decision on the Dutch bench in the first half extra time, and the number of yellow cards has increased since then.
Starting with a warning given to Memphis Depay of the Netherlands in the 31st minute of the second half, the Laos referee pulled out six yellow cards until the end of extra time in the second half, and five more yellow cards from overtime to the end of the penalty shootout.
Although it was not captured on the TV screen, FIFA text messages showed the Netherlands two more yellow cards even after the match was confirmed when Argentina's fifth shootout kicker, Lautaro Martinez, scored a shot.
According to the official statistics of FIFA's official content platform, FIFA+, a total of 16 yellow cards were given on the 10th (Korean time).
It is unclear whether the two cards given to the Argentine coaching staff who were off the field were subtracted, or the two cards received by the Dutch players after the win or loss were confirmed.
In any case, this is the match with the most yellow cards in World Cup history, according to the BBC.
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The number of yellow cards taken out after the game (18) is 1st overall, and it is a tie record only in terms of FIFA official statistics.
The previous record was set in the round of 16 match between the Netherlands and Portugal at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
At the end of the brawl at the time, 16 yellow cards came out, and 4 people received red cards.
In the group stage match between Germany and Cameroon at the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, both teams received 8 warnings each.
Lionel Messi, who also failed to avoid a yellow card, complained to reporters after the match, saying, "I am quite angry. I do not want to comment on the referee because I can be disciplined.
(Photo = AP, Yonhap News)