Ken Aston - Battle of Santiago

Aston refereed the 1960 European Nations Cup final and the 1963 FA Cup Final, but he is best known for refereeing the notorious Battle of Santiago, the match between Chile and Italy in the 1962 World Cup. The atmosphere of this match had been inflamed by Italian journalists' derogatory comments on the charms and morals of Chilean women and the condition of the Chilean capital, as well as by the Chileans' disapproval of the Italian practice of using South American players with Italian passports.

The match got off to a vigorous start, with the first player cautioned within seconds of the game beginning. After 12 minutes Italy's Giorgio Ferrini had to be escorted off the field by Aston and armed policemen, who were required twice more later in the match, for hacking down the Chilean centre-forward, Landa. Later, Aston sent off David for a retaliatory kick at the head of the Chilean outside-left, Leonel Sánchez, although Sánchez himself was allowed to stay on the pitch despite breaking the nose of the Argentine-born Italian inside-right, Humberto Maschio, with a left hook; this went unnoticed by Aston and, as none of the assistant referees noticed it either, this incident became the first where FIFA intervened on the basis of video evidence. Sánchez was then charged with violent conduct, but played in the rest of Chile's remaining games.