Top Five Strangest Cards

Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood made headlines last week with one of the weirdest cards while playing for New Zealand - he was booked during the game, for signing autographs!

In light of this, Football Park decided to take a fun dive into some of the strangest reasons players have been carded in football history.

5. Kicking a Ball Boy

This is one that many people will always remember, the moment Eden Hazard was famously sent off against Swansea in 2013 for kicking a ball boy.

Swansea were leading 2-0 in the 80th minute when the ball found its way to 17-year-old Charlie Morgan, the ball boy. Instead of quickly returning it, Morgan held on the ball and refused to give it to Eden Hazard when he was then kicked in the gut by the Belgium which saw him immediately shown a red card by the referee.

That’s not the end of the story for that ball boy, though. Twelve years on, Charlie Morgan is now a millionaire after he set up the company, AU Vodka, with his best mate.

That time Eden Hazard got sent off for kicking a ball boy 😅#tbt pic.twitter.com/fynhHjft0r
— 32Red (@32Red) January 24, 2019

4. Battle Of Bramall Lane

This one is a bit different from the rest, not a single moment in particular, but pure chaos over 90 minutes.

Back in 2002, Sheffield United hosted West Brom in the Championship, and what started as a normal game quickly turned into one of the most bizarre matches in EFL history.

Three Sheffield United players were sent off, then two more went off injured, leaving them with just six men on the pitch. With the rules stating a team needs at least seven players to continue, the referee had no choice but to abandon the game which is the only time that has ever happened in the EFL.

20 years ago today:

The Battle of Bramall Lane.

Includes one of the most x-rated tackles of all time, and some fine foreshadowing in the commentary box:

"Georges Santos has a bit of history with Andy Johnson. That first challenge will be interesting..."pic.twitter.com/wdO82HwWx1
— A Funny Old Game (@sid_lambert) March 16, 2022

3. Urinating on The Pitch

This is the kind of thing you might expect from someone nursing a hangover on a Sunday morning game down at the park, but definitely not from someone playing for a professional club.

In 2017, Salford City’s goalkeeper Max Crocombe made headlines for one of the strangest moments in football history when during a match against Bradford Park Avenue in the National League North, he was caught taking a leak behind his goal.

The Bradford Park Avenue secretary, Colin Barker, admitted after the game that he had been repeatedly told by the steward on duty not to do it, which he ignored. As a result, he was given his marching orders.

87' - We can confirm that Crocombe has been sent off for urinating during the game. We are not joking. #greenarmy (1-2)
— Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC (@BPAFCOfficial) October 28, 2017

2. Tackling a Pitch Invader

Pitch invaders can often cause a real nuisance, sometimes taking several minutes before they’re escorted off the field. So, in 2011 when Dorchester Town player-manager Ashley Vickers witnessed one running on the pitch, he saw his opportunity to tackle them to the ground in order to carry on with the game.

Bizarrely, this resulted in Ashley Vickers being sent off by the referee, much to the disbelief of his own players, even the opposing team, who offered to sub a player off to make it fair.

Dorchester finished the game with eight men and lost 3-1.

1. Fighting Your Own Teammate

It’s pretty common to see scraps and scuffles break out on the pitch, with players occasionally getting booked, or even sent off, for their actions. But it’s not every day you see two players from the same team going at it and getting cautioned for it.

Newcastle were 3-0 down at home to Aston Villa when the midfield duo of Kieran Dyer and Bowyer got into a fight and were subsequently booked for it.

Kieron Dyer finally revealed the details of that scrap with Lee Bowyerhttp://t.co/0g11aazxVG pic.twitter.com/uWWI9itF0F
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) October 21, 2014