Idrissa Gueye’s sending-off for Everton for slapping his teammate in the face during a Premier League game joins the list of football's most bizarre red cards.
Here are a few others:
Zidane's headbutt
Arguably the most famous red card in football happened in the World Cup final and to one of the game’s greatest ever players. It was during extra time in the 2006 title match between France and Italy when French star Zinedine Zidane received some insults from opponent Marco Materazzi off the ball. Zidane turned toward Materazzi, approached him and planted his head into the top of the Italy defender’s chest, knocking him to the ground.
The incident appeared to have been missed by the on-field referee but after a few minutes of confusion — during which the fourth official might have seen a replay on a TV monitor — Zidane was shown a red card in what was already his last ever match before retirement. France went on to lose the final on penalties. It has long been speculated since that it was the first ever — unofficial — video review, more than a decade before the introduction of the VAR system ahead of the 2018 World Cup.
Three yellow cards
Croatia center back Josip Simunic’s red card in the same 2006 World Cup was less “wow” and more “what?” During a wild 2-2 draw between Croatia and Australia, Simunic was shown a second yellow card in the 90th minute by English referee Graham Poll. However, Poll didn’t then follow it up with a red card and the game continued — only for Simunic to collect another booking, for dissent, after the final whistle and finally get a red. Simunic looked bemused and Poll didn’t officiate in another game that tournament. He later said he thought he had shown the second yellow card to an Australia player and not Simunic, who was born in Australia and spoke with an Australian accent.
Hazard and the ball boy
Eden Hazard was best known for his weaving runs during his trophy-laden time at Chelsea from 2012-19 but there was also an unusual red card thrown in there. In an English League Cup match in 2013, Chelsea was in need of two late goals against Swansea when the ball went out of play and into the possession of a ball boy. He covered the ball with his body as Hazard approached. In an attempt to retrieve the ball, Hazard initially tried to grab it with his hands but then aimed a kick under the ball boy’s body. The boy writhed around in agony, holding his ribs and even complaining to the referee. Whether Hazard connected with the ball or the ball boy’s ribs didn’t matter — he was sent off. No action was taken against Hazard after the boy was interviewed by police.
Mistaken identity
It wasn’t just the 6-0 scoreline that provided the farcical element to Arsenal’s heavy Premier League beating at Chelsea in 2014. In the 15th minute, Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain blatantly handled the ball in the penalty area while making a diving save to tip away a shot by Eden Hazard. Oxlade-Chamberlain escaped any sanction — but only because referee Andre Marriner chose instead to show the red card to defender Kieran Gibbs. Oxlade-Chamberlain was seen saying “it was me” to Marriner but the referee ignored protests, while his assistants also failed to spot the mistake. Marriner later admitted, via a statement, to making a mistake.
Newcastle scrap
The confrontation involving Gueye and Keane was nothing compared to the brawl between then-Newcastle teammates Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer during a Premier League game against Aston Villa in 2005. The pair squared up away from the ball, grabbed each other around the neck, and started throwing punches late in the second half. It needed the intervention of other Newcastle players and Villa midfielder Gareth Barry for Bowyer and Dyer to be separated. Both were shown red cards and that reduced Newcastle to eight players, because the team had already had a man sent off.
