A bizarre incident took place in India’s top-tier football competition, long before the match even began. Players were still waiting in the tunnel, preparing to walk onto the pitch, when suddenly, a red card was brandished. An FC Goa footballer was expelled before stepping onto the field.
Guarroxena Sent Off in Tunnel After Referee Dispute
During yesterday’s (Thursday) Super Cup semi-final between FC Goa and Mumbai City FC, Goa captain Iker Guarroxena was shockingly shown a straight red card inside the tunnel.
Eyewitnesses saw the Spanish midfielder in a heated exchange with the referee moments before kickoff.
According to reports, the unusual scene began with an issue regarding Guarroxena’s undergarment. The inner shirt he wore under his jersey matched the color of the opposing team’s kit—something not allowed under the rules.
The referee instructed him to change it, but Guarroxena refused.
“𝑯𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅,” 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
This disagreement quickly turned into an argument, leading to the referee sending him off immediately.
Goa Coach Shocked by the Decision
FC Goa head coach Manolo Marquez expressed disbelief after the match.
“𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉, 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒅. 𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒛.
However, due to the timing of the tunnel red card—shown before kickoff—Goa were allowed to replace Guarroxena rather than play with 10 men. Spanish forward Javier Severio was brought on in his place.
Goa Advances to the Final Despite the Chaos
Despite the turmoil, FC Goa secured a 2–1 victory and booked a spot in the final. They will face East Bengal on Sunday, who beat Punjab FC 3–1 in the other semi-final.
The shocking pre-match incident, however, remains the main talking point of the tournament and one of the strangest moments in Indian football history.
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