You know a dirty game when you see one. Players go flying into tackles, things get chippy and the referee absolutely loses control of the match. Two or three red cards in a match is enough to make people cringe, but how about 36?
No, that’s not a typo — 36 red cards. In one game.
David Beckham’s infamous red card in the Round of 16 at the 1998 World Cup was a defining moment in the flamboyant midfielder’s career. Some robots are hoping for a similar trajectory.
Beckham, then a gorgeous 23-year-old yet to settle down with Mrs. Posh Spice, was knocked to the ground by a heavy challenge from Diego Simeone in the second half of a 2-2 match. From his stomach, Beckham petulantly flung out a leg at Simeone. He was duly sent off and cost England a spot in the quarterfinals as La Albiceleste won as everyone does against England: on penalties.
Watford were forced to play most of their tie against Brighton this Saturday with 10-men. The Hornets went down a player after this nasty two-footed tackle by defender Miguel Britos in the 24th minute.
Miguel Britos sent off for shocking tackle https://t.co/K3ifXl0qaj via @YouTube
— Lilian Chan (@bestgug) August 26, 2017
Some referees will let you get away with murder. Others will send you off for bad breath. Getting a grasp on what a ref will and will not allow is vital in every match for those who like to push the line, but getting a grasp on what the following refs were thinking is beyond our abilities.
We’ve compiled a list of the players who've been least deserving of being sent off, juxtaposed against players who were most deserving of seeing red but were allowed to stay on the pitch.
Last week, Jonjo Shelvey revealed himself to be the thinking man of the Premier League when he stomped on Dele Alli's ankle in plain sight of the referee, presumably after running the idea by his good friend Potato Brain. It was a true display of intellect, the likes of which we thought we would never see again.
Oh happy day, we were wrong.
We’ve come to understand that VAR is going to get weird. There are going to be suspensions of play that feel strange, there are going to be offenses that are bizarrely non-reviewable, there are going to be goals disallowed for offenses in the buildup that’ll feel mysteriously idiosyncratic. It all comes with the power of time travel.
But the one surreal use of VAR we never expected would be the one ending with the brandishing of a straight red card to the wholesome Kaka, which happened on Saturday. This wasn’t your classic sending off — it was weird as s**t.
There’s no sight in football quite like that of a marauding center half. These moments invariably begin with the blundering oaf picking his head up and trying to spot a midfielder or defensive partner to lay the ball off to. Seeing all these options closed down, he’ll realize that he’s got about 15 yards of open real estate in front of him and those gangly legs will start churning.
In 24 minutes of Spanish Super Cup action on Sunday, Cristiano Ronaldo accomplished what many could never achieve over the course of their entire careers. The mercurial forward has always shown an appetite for amassing marks of renown, but Sunday’s first leg at the Camp Nou had something for everyone in the spectrum of The Cristiano Ronaldo Experience.
What a goal.
In the Premier League boneheaded move of the day, Jonjo Shelvey received straight red for stomping on the ankle of Dele Alli in plain sight of the referee.
And when we say "in plain sight of the referee," we mean that the referee could not have been any closer, or paying closer attention. See Exhibit A: