There have been many strange reasons for red cards: urinating, kicking a ball boy, and pulling down an opponent’s shorts (ahem, Edin Dzeko) to name a few.
Now Notts County midfielder Ollie Norburn has thrown his hat in the right to join the bizarre dismissal society.
The midfielder was given his marching orders against Chesterfield on Saturday afternoon after throwing an opponent’s boot off the pitch.
Norburn was already on a yellow card when his opponent Armando Dobra’s boot came off in a challenge and he decided to take things a step further.
The 33-year-old flung the loose boot backwards off the pitch, almost striking his own team-mate Nick Tsaroulla in the head.
Referee Matthew Corlett almost immediately sent off Norburn and his side, who were already 1-0 down, went on to lose 3-2 at home.
Ollie Norburn’s eyes lit up when Armando Dobra’s boot came off during their League Two game
He flung his opponent’s boot off the pitch and was subsequently given his marching orders
It was a major blow for their automatic promotion hopes – they are now four points off third-placed Cambridge United in League Two – while the result strengthened Chesterfield’s standing in the play-offs.
‘Very, very silly, petty stuff, things you’d see in a playground,’ said Michael Dawson on Sky Sports.
‘He picks the boot up and just throws it away. Referee, second yellow card, off you go, early shower for you, Ollie Norburn.’
Former Premier League referee Mike Dean added: ‘It’s absolute madness, I’ve never seen that before.’
Dobra’s reaction to losing his boot said it all and it is likely that Norburn was sent off for causing a ‘sporting disadvantage’ under the laws of the game.
Not every single scenario is written into the laws made by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) and part of a referee’s job is to interpret them on the fly and apply them to unexpected situations like this.
