George McCabe was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 association football referee, who officiated at the 1966 World Cup

1966 FIFA World Cup

The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in England from 11 July to 30 July. England beat West Germany 4–2 in the final, winning the World Cup for the first time, so becoming the first host to win the tournament since Italy in 1934.-Host selection:England was chosen as...

 and in an FA Cup Final

FA Cup Final

The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. With an official attendance of 89,826 at the 2007 FA Cup Final, it is the fourth best attended domestic club championship event in the world and the second most...

.

Career

McCabe, though awarded the 1969 FA Cup Final

1969 FA Cup Final

The 1969 FA Cup Final was the final match of the 1968–69 staging of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, better known as the FA Cup. The match was contested between Leicester City and Manchester City at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday 26 April 1969...

 in the domestic game in England, is perhaps more well-known for his handling of the Brazil

Brazil national football team

The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...

 versus Portugal

Portugal national football team

The Portugal national football team represents Portugal in association football and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home ground is Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and their head coach is Paulo Bento...

 World Cup

1966 FIFA World Cup

The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in England from 11 July to 30 July. England beat West Germany 4–2 in the final, winning the World Cup for the first time, so becoming the first host to win the tournament since Italy in 1934.-Host selection:England was chosen as...

 match played at Goodison Park

Goodison Park

Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...

, Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

, on July 19, 1966, in which he was assisted by Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

' Leo Callaghan

Leo Callaghan

Leo Callaghan was an association football referee in the English Football League. He was also a Welsh FIFA referee.-Career:...

 and England's Ken Dagnall

Ken Dagnall

Kenneth Dagnall was an English former football referee, who officiated in the Football League and for FIFA, especially during the 1966 World Cup held in England. He originally came from Bolton in Lancashire, latterly living in the Great Lever area of the town.-Career:Ken Dagnall took charge of two...

.

During that game he failed to send João Morais

João Morais

João Pedro Morais was a Portuguese international footballer.-Club career:He played as a defender for Sporting Clube de Portugal, from 1958/59 to 1968/69, where he won several national championships as well as the Portuguese Cup...

 from the field of play after a double foul on Pelé

Pelé

However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...

. Although McCabe had appeared on the line in Brazil's victory over Bulgaria

Bulgaria national football team

The FIFA Bulgaria national football team is an association football team fielded by the Bulgarian Football Union, a member association of UEFA. The team's home ground is Vasil Levski in Sofia and Luboslav Penev is in charge manager after replacement of Lothar Matthäus...

 a week earlier, he played no further part in the competition following this incident.

Brian Glanville

Brian Glanville

Brian Lester Glanville is a leading English football writer and novelist.-Biography:Glanville was educated at Charterhouse School, where he played football to a high standard...

, writing of the match, stated: "Pelé would say that it was only when he saw the incident on film that he realised how bad it was. He would swear, then, never to play in a World Cup again. The indulgent, flaccid English referee, George McCabe, allowed Morais to stay on the field, so that now Portugal were playing against ten men". In 2010, The Telegraph listed it among the 10 worst refereeing errors in World Cup history.

The official Sheffield United

Sheffield United F.C.

Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...

 website mentions his passing when crediting him with being co-founder (along with Derek Dooley) of the "Senior Blades Club", for over-60 supporters. No year of demise is specified, but it is believed to be January 2001.