Completely gaga

Automatically saved draft

Rafael Silva

(Bild: x.com/asistanaliz; x.com/AtaqueFutbolero)

Over-motivation on his comeback after more than four months out injured, a sudden fit of madness, personal animosity towards an opponent or simply clumsiness? Whatever it was, Brazilian footballer Rafael Silva caused a huge stir with a red foul just three (!) seconds after the kick-off of a Série A match in Brazil ...

It was a bizarre scene in the clash between Athletico Paranaense from Curitiba and Cruzeiro EC from Belo Horizonte in front of around 36,000 spectators, many of whom were not even in their seats when the first climax took its course.

Rafael Silva reacted in total disbelief to the exclusion
Immediately after the kick-off for the home side, the Cruzeiro striker charged towards the ball that had been passed deep into the opposition half of the pitch - and while he merely passed a first Paranaense player roughly, he brutally checked the second opponent, Kaique Rocha, out of his path with an elbow strike.

Referee Rodrigo Jose Pereira de Lima did not hesitate for long and immediately showed the culprit the red card. Almost unbelievable: Rafael Silva, who also played for FC Lugano in Switzerland around ten years ago, reacted in complete disbelief to the dismissal, seemingly unable to see anything illegal in his attack.

With one man less, the visitors from Belo Horizonte were unsurprisingly on the losing end of a 3-0 defeat. While Cruzeiro remained in 8th place in Série A, Paranaense improved from third-last place in the 20-team league to 16th.

And Rafael Silva? Many Cruzeiro fans have taken to social media to demand the immediate dismissal of the record red card offender, with the club announcing at least the highest possible fine ...