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A non-league player was shown a red card for an off-the-ball incident – after seemingly being poked in the eye by the referee.
The incident happened during the National League match between AFC Halifax Town and Southend United. After a second half corner came to nothing, referee Paul Marsden signalled for a throw.
However, as he did so he appeared to inadvertently poke Halifax’s Luke Summerfield in the eye, who was running past him. The official initially checked on Summerfield and presumably offered his apologies.
However, he then incredibly reached into his pocket and pulled out a red card, leaving both sets of players stunned. Halifax were 1-0 down at the time but the 10 men fought back to bag a point thanks to a late equaliser from Adam Senior.
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The bizarre red card was naturally the main talking point after the game, with fans left fuming at the referee as footage of the incident emerged on social media.
“Quite possibly the worst decision I’ve ever seen, that’s Marsden’s refereeing career done,” said one.
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Another fumed: “Utter joke of a ref. Should be stood down forever. Terrible decision. What a farce, hope you get that overturned."
A third said: “The worst part is the ref clearly realises what he's done, looks to see if the player is alright and then brandishes the red card. Instinct kicked in initially, then he brandished the card to try cover his mistake. Unbelievable Jeff!”
A fourth commented: “Consistently the worst referee at that level. Awful.” Meanwhile, another fan raged: “Absolutely disgusting and horrible the ref.” One fan quipped: “Another ref apology incoming.”
Surprisingly, the Halifax website made little mention of the incident in its match report, only saying: “Town were reduced to 10 men in a bizarre incident, with referee Paul Marsden sending Luke Summerfield off despite initiating contact the Town midfielder’s face.”
- Footballblog
- Grassroots Football
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