Lionesses star Alex Greenwood was sent off in bizarre fashion after taking too long over a free-kick – leaving fans speechless.
The incident occurred as Greenwood’s Manchester City were taking on Chelsea in the Women’s Super League. In the 38th minute with City 1-0 up, Greenwood, who was on a booking, was preparing to take a free-kick in her own half.
As she assessed her options, Greenwood finally decided to play the set-piece short to a team-mate. However, she took too long for referee Emily Heaslip liking, who immediately brandished a yellow card and then a red.
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The manner of the sending off left many fans appalled, with one raging: “What the hell is going on man? Lost for words this weekend. Make it make sense.” A second fumed: “One of the most ridiculous refereeing decisions I’ve seen. What a joke!”
A third opined: “I can understand if she was taking 30 seconds to a minute but less than 10 seconds, wow. I hate time wasting but this?” Another said commented: “Appalling decision. Embarrassing really. Rules are there to improve the game not damage it.”
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A fifth added: “Every week we hear about refereeing decisions more than anything else. The quality of refs is at an all-time low and yet all the emphasis is on respecting them. It is very difficult to respect a referee who acts like this. Stop protecting referees and make them accountable.”
Heaslip continued to dish out the cards though, with Lauren Hemp seeing red too as City were reduced to nine players. Meanwhile, City manager Gareth Taylor was booked.
However, a few fans defended the referee. One said: “Why is everyone criticising the ref for applying the current rules, which presumably every club was informed about at the start of the season?”
After holding on grimly, the nine players eventually conceded an equaliser, with Guro Reiten poking Chelsea level in the sixth minute of added time.
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