Before the introduction of the whistle, referees indicated their decisions by waving a white handkerchief. The whistles that were first adopted by referees were made by Joseph Hudson at Mills Munitions in Birmingham, England. The Acme Whistle Company (based at Mills Munitions Factory) first began to mass - produce pea whistles in the 1870s for the Metropolitan Police Force. It is frequently stated the referee 's whistle was first used in a game between Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Norfolk in 1878; however the last such fixture known to have taken place between the two clubs was in 1874. The Nottingham Forest account book of 1872 apparently recorded the purchase of an "umpire 's whistle '' and in 1928 an article by RM Ruck about his playing days in the early 1870s referred to the use of a whistle by umpires to indicate an infringement.
what did uk soccer officials use before whistles
a white handkerchief