Have you ever seen a team have a player sent-off for a second booking, but keep all eleven players on the pitch?
Well, this is what happened when Ajax traveled to Utrecht in today's early Eredivisie fixture. A cagey affair that would finish 0-0 and strengthen PSV's hold on top spot, Utrecht's Lukas Goertler found himself in a very unusual decision.
With the home side seemingly content with holding on for a valuable point, Goertler, who had started the game for Utrecht but was replaced after an hour, partook in some questionable game-management.
As the ball rolled out over the sideline toward the Utrecht bench in the 90th minute, the German forward bent over the advertising hoarding and took the ball away from Justin Kluivert.
Keen to get the ball back and push on for a late winner, the famous forward's son Justin took exception to Goertler's obstruction.
After a brief melee, the referee Danny Makkelie took immediate action - Goertler was booked for interfering with play.
Only, it wasn't the German's first booking of the afternoon. Having already got a yellow-card in the first-half, it didn't take Makkelie long to realise that this second card meant Goertler had to go.
Much to his confusion and the confusion of his teammates around him, Goertler was escorted out of the dugout and back to the home changing-room.
Although, after careful consideration of that first bookable offense, Goertler can feel fortunate that he almost lasted the full match to begin with.
⚠️ | Een vieze overtreding van Lukas Görtler op Nicolás Tagliafico. Hij krijgt een gele kaart. #utrajahttps://t.co/xtI66pwYHM pic.twitter.com/NI7AoUI3x3
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) January 28, 2018
You can watch the highly unusual scenes play out below.
