Marcelino Garcia Toral came bounding down the steps like an excited schoolboy when the bell goes. He flew past the substitutes and staff, skidded left, and sprinted up the line all wide-eyed and excited, shaking his fists and beaming. He had gone 15 or 20 metres, maybe 25 when he realised just a fraction later than everyone else that something had gone wrong again.
The characteristics of a reckless challenge, originally identified by the on-field referee, were not evident in the footage presented to the VAR team when reviewing the incident. Attwell, would have been very uncomfortable with Simons action, feeling the contact on the back of Van Dijk's calf, with a level of force and speed, endangered the safety of his opponent and met the threshold for a possible red card.
Borussia Dortmund clung on to earn a 1-1 draw with Freiburg at Europa-Park Stadion despite playing with 10 men for almost 45 minutes following Jobe Bellingham's red card. Bellingham was sent off for a professional last-man foul in the 53rd minute with Dortmund 1-0 up, and though they were pegged back by Lucas Holer's stunning goal, Niko Kovac's men navigated a finale featuring seven minutes of stoppage time.
As South Africa closed in on a record 73-0 victory in Cardiff, Etzebeth clashed with the Welsh back-rower Alex Mann, appearing to make contact with his opponent's left eye in a fracas involving several players from both sides. With two minutes left at the Principality Stadium, the 34-year-old was shown a permanent red card by the referee, Luc Ramos, after a review with the television match official, Eric Gauzins. You have a clear finger in the eyes, so for me, it's a permanent red card, Ramos said during the review.
Ronan O'Gara was sent off in last night's Top 14 defeat in Pau, the La Rochelle chief picking up a second yellow card during an astonishing 13-try clash that saw his out-half Antoine Hastoy ship the fastest red card in league history - 34 seconds.
It's a tough night. They are a very good, young, and fresh team. With one less player, it's easy to say the game becomes difficult. But they also did everything right with the ball: they took full advantage of the extra man and made it difficult for us both to get into their area and to defend,
The pair squared up after Gueye's poor pass inside the box gifted a chance to United skipper Bruno Fernandes, who fired narrowly wide. Gueye was irate and raised his left hand to slap Keane, with referee Tony Harrington immediately producing a red card, which was confirmed by VAR Paul Howard. The Premier League Match Centre said: "The referee's call of red card to Gueye for violent conduct was checked and confirmed by VAR - with the action deemed to be a clear strike to the face of Keane."
Milan Futuro suffered a disappointing defeat on Sunday afternoon, putting in a very good performance but ultimately falling 2-1 to Villa Valle. After two weeks off due to the international break, the Futuro took to the field against their opponents on Sunday hoping to avenge the 1-0 defeat against bottom-placed Nuova Sondrio in their last league match. The first half was full of drama from the very first minutes.
Franck Kessie's second-half stunner proved decisive as 10-man Al-Ahli maintained their unbeaten start to the Saudi Pro League season with a 2-1 victory over Al-Qadsiah. Kessie picked out the bottom-left corner just two minutes after substitute Abdullah Al Salem had levelled the contest, with his effort moving Al-Ahli up to fourth in the table. Galeno curled Al-Ahli into a sixth-minute lead after the Brazilian ruthlessly punished Musab Al Juwayr's misplaced pass with a precise finish into the bottom-right corner.