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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Referee Damir Skomina from Slovenia shows a red card to Colombia’s Carlos Sanchez, on the ground, during the group H match between Colombia and Japan at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Mordavia Arena in Saransk, Russia, today.
VOLGOGRAD, Russia >> Colombia midfielder Carlos Sanchez will be relieved about one thing. His third-minute dismissal in the team’s opener with Japan on Tuesday at the World Cup isn’t the fastest in the tournament’s history.
That honor remains in the hands of Uruguay defender Jose Batista, who was shown a red card against Scotland at the 1986 World Cup inside the first minute.
Still, Sanchez is second in the all-time list and his dismissal means there are now three players in the history of the World Cup who have been sent off inside the first 10 minutes.
JOSE BATISTA, 1986
Batista, a defender, was shown a red card in the 52nd second of a group match against a Scotland team coached by Alex Ferguson, after he brought down midfielder Gordon Strachan at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. It could have been even earlier as the foul was committed in the 39th second — it took the French referee Joel Quiniou a full 13 seconds to brandish the card.
Despite having a one-man advantage for nearly the whole match, the game ended 0-0 and Scotland was eliminated.
Batista, who unlike some of the other players in that Uruguay side didn’t have much of a reputation as a bruiser, appears to have come to terms with his place in World Cup history.
“I work at a football academy and I coach an amateur team, and I always hear, ‘You know who this guy is? He’s the one that got sent off.’ So I get my phone out and show them the tackle,” Batista said in an interview posted on FIFA.com in 2016.
CARLOS SANCHEZ, 2018
The Colombian holding midfielder’s offense wasn’t as blatant as Batista’s but he was sent off by Slovenian referee Damir Skomina for handling the ball.
Sanchez had struck out his arm to stop a shot that looked bound for the Colombian net at the Mordovia Arena in Saransk.
It was costly. Shinji Kagawa converted the ensuing penalty to give Japan the lead. And though Colombia managed to get back on level terms in the 39th minute with a smart free-kick from Juan Quintero, Japan’s man-advantage was evident in the second half. Yuya Osako sealed the win with a powerful header in the 73rd minute.
GEORGIO FERRINI, 1962
The Italian’s sending-off in the 1962 World Cup took place during what is arguably the dirtiest game in World Cup history. Italy versus Chile will forever be known as the “Battle of Santiago.”
The 66,000 fans at Chile’s national stadium witnessed spitting, two-footed challenges, punches, scuffles and even police intervention.
Referee Ken Aston, who later invented the yellow and red card system in place from the 1970 World Cup, took to the field fearful of what was to come. The backdrop to the game had already added an edge to the match with Italian reporters maligning Chile as a country.
In the eighth minute, Aston sent off midfielder Ferrini for a violent foul on a Chile player. Ferrini refused to leave the field and was eventually escorted off by police.
Arguably, the violence only got worse. Italy defender Mario David was also sent off after he high-kicked at Leonel Sanchez’s throat. Sanchez, the son of a professional boxer, should have been sent off himself after breaking Humberto Maschio’s nose with a punch.
Italy, down to nine men, held on until two late goals saw Chile win 2-0.
ZEZE PROCOPIO,1938
Before the “Battle of Santiago,” the match that was perhaps the most violent in World Cup history had taken place at the 1938 World Cup in France when Brazil took on Czechoslovakia.
According to British journalist Brian Glanville, there was “carnage” in the quarterfinal match in Bordeaux.
Zeze, a midfielder, was sent off in the 14th minute for kicking out at Czechoslovakia forward Oldrich Nejedly, who ended up with a broken leg.
Also sent off were Czechoslovakia striker Jan Riha and Brazilian defender Arthur Machado for trading punches in the 89th minute.
The match ended 1-1 and the two sides had to replay two days later, again in Bordeaux. This time, there were no expulsions and Brazil came through 2-1.
Sanchez’s red card means that Zeze is no longer one of the three fastest sending offs in World Cup history.
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