There’s been a recount in the race for the title of 2008’s most stupid sending off. Ricardo Fuller came close to taking the crown on Sunday when he walked for slapping his team captain. A fabulous effort, but not quite good enough. The winner comes from the Greek Super League, and it’s the match referee who takes all the credit.
Asteras Tripolis midfielder Adrián Bastía was given a straight red card for tripping up the amateurish streaker - he didn’t even bother to take his clothes off!
Bastía’s team-mates protested against the decision; the Panathinaikos players also tried to make the ref see sense, all to no avail.
Emerson Acuña is a Colombian striker who plays for Atlético Junior in the land of his birth. His nickname is El Piojo - “The Louse”. Not a sobriquet which speaks of a player adored by the masses. This video goes some way to explain his unpopularity.
That’s easily the most shameless, dishonest dive I’ve ever seen. I mean, rightly or wrongly, we all expect players to flop to the turf when there’s a bit of clumsy contact in the box. But you can’t have any contact when the opposition aren’t within touching distance!
The resultant penalty allowed Atlético to open the scoring after only 19 minutes of play. They held their 1-0 lead over América de Cali until the second half, by which point the visitors were playing against ten men: Acuña was sent off in the 34th minute.
When the full-time whistle blew, it was still honours even at 1-1. The combination of Acuña’s cheating and myopic refereeing from José Niño robbed América of all three points.
Before we go any further, let’s just say that there’s a tiny danger this video will make you want to referee football matches…
It’s flamboyant yellow card action from the 2. Bundesliga at the weekend. Mainz and Saint Pauli are upstaged by the man in black.
Thomas Metzen flashed two cards simultaneously in a display of showmanship that’s definitely not UEFA-approved. The double-booking is about as cool as refereeing ever gets. Until you think about it for a bit. Refs don’t normally carry two yellow cards, so Metzen deliberately took a spare onto the pitch just on the off-chance that he’d get to book two players at once. And that, dear reader, makes him a very sad man.
A famous video clip from a 1995 Scottish Division One match between Rangers and Hibernian. This is like kicking a puppy.
Referee Dougie Smith booked Gazza for brandishing the mislaid yellow card. But 21st-century men in black have a more advanced sense of humour. Gary McSheffrey committed a copycat crime last season without suffering the same punishment. Have UEFA been running comedy appreciation workshops?