Search icon

Football

19th Mar 2022

Player sent off after being hit in the face and breaking opponent’s leg during fall

Callum Boyle

A bizarre red card

A player in Argentina was sent off for breaking an opponent’s leg after he fell as a result of the ball being hit in his face on Thursday.

Juan Pablo Krilanovich was playing for Lanus reserves against Banfield reserves in a 1-1 draw and was shown the bizarre red card whilst the hosts were leading 1-0.

Krilanovich chased down Lautaro Cardozo of Banfield but as Cardozo went to clear the ball high up the pitch, he instead hit the Lanus midfielder in the face – unintentionally.

The impact of the ball hit Krilanovich caused him to then fall to the floor, but as he slipped to the ground, his foot then caught Cardozo’s right leg.

https://twitter.com/ESPNFutbolArg/status/1504489183011749889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1504489183011749889%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportbible.com%2F

Medical staff were immediately required to attend to Cardozo – who required a stretcher – with Banfield later confirming that the player had suffered a fracture of the tibia and fibula in his right leg and had undergone successful surgery.

Despite the severe injury, it was clear that Krilanovich’s tackle was nothing more than accidental, however referee Martin Morenza felt he had no other option other than to show the Lanus midfielder a straight red card.

It was an extremely harsh one but given the severity of the injury, it looked as if officials believed it was the only necessary option.

As of yet, it is unknown if Lanus have submitted an appeal against the decision, but they did send a message of best wishes to Banfield and Cardozo.

It said: “At Club Lanús we are very happy that Lautaro Cardozo’s operation has been carried out successfully. Our best wishes for a speedy recovery to him. Rivals, not enemies.”

Related links: