0% Villa - The Real Madrid sending offs (sendings off?)

[Dave Cooper please]

Did you see this, two Real players were on yellows and if they had been booked in the last group game they would have missed the first knockout game, so, allegedly, they deliberately got themselves booked and sent off so they would miss the meaningless last group game.

Cheating? Poor gamesmanship? Clever thinking?

What do you reckon?

[Concrete John]

Bit of all three.  It's impossible top prove it was deliberate, so they'll get away with it.

If we were in that position I'd like Villa players to do the same.

[German James]

If they really managed this deception, they will consider themselves cunning geniuses.
I think it would make them cheating scum and sadly typical of modern footballers.

[Dan England]

With the amount of money associated with progressing in the competition, players natural hunger to win the trophy, it makes perfect sense to do something like that.

[Ad@m]

Is it any different to what Beckham did for England in a Euro/World Cup qualifier against Wales a few years back?

[Damo70]

Beckham did it a few years back to miss an England game against some minnows and be ready for a top of the group clash if I remember right. It's the clever thing to do, I thought it smacked of Mourinho but madrid did it last year too apparently. It made me laugh when Ramos shook the ref's hand for sending him off though.

[dave.woodhall]

Roy Keane got himself booked (or maybe sent off) towards the end of a Republic game and when asked why he replied "Have you seen where we're playing next?" It's always happened, it always will.

[Dave Cooper please]

Personally I think the ref should have been wise to it and just pointed to his watch saying "we'll be here all night if you like but I'm not booking you". After all. it was 4-0, Ajax weren't going to stage a comeback.

[lovejoy]

Just ban them from the knock out game. Simple.

[tim]

It's dodgy but if the rules can be that easily bent, then there's nothing wrong with it. It can be done so why not take advantage..?

[timeoutbigbar]

I've certainly heard of this happening before, though can't remember where.  Certainly not a new thing anyway.  Is there not a fine of any kind imposed as standard for a red card, or if a team generates a number of them throughout a competition?  I can't really see as there is much benefit to it really, surely in a game Real don't need anything from they could have just rested a couple of players.

[peter w]

Steve Foster was trying to get himself sent-off at the end of the 82-83 season so he could play in the final. It was treated mostly as a comical thing to do and everyone seemed to sympathise. I've no problem with them doing it in this situation (Real Madrid) because there is nothing on their last game so may as well have their players suspended for that rather than a crucial tie.

[UK Redsox]

Makes perfect sense to me. Good tactics

[timeoutbigbar]

I must be missing something then. which tends to happen alot.

[Concrete John]

I can't really see as there is much benefit to it really, surely in a game Real don't need anything from they could have just rested a couple of players.

I think the cards carry forward into the knock out games, so players still 'on a yellow' could miss future games if booked again.  By missing the pointless match the ban is served and they start from scratch in the knock out matches.