Video: Gone in 30 seconds! Angel Di Maria dives, pulls referee's shirt and gets sent off
Manchester United’s Angel Di Maria has not been having the best of times of late. The Argentine international has been finding it tough to adjust to the Premier League, as off-field problems (his house being broken into) and injury issues have not helped him settle down.
He was having a decent game against Arsenal in the FA Cup last night, but a weird spell of 30 seconds saw a rush of blood to his head, as he was booked for diving, and then shown a second yellow card for grabbing the referee Michael Oliver. Here is him pulling the referee’s shirt after which he was sent off:
The winger cut in from the right flank, and dribbled past Aaron Ramsey, who then tried to stop him by holding on to him. There was not enough contact to warrant a foul, but Di Maria went down nonetheless, and was booked for the dive.
His reaction however, to being booked, was far from mature, as he had a go at the referee, and caught hold of his shirt, leaving Oliver with no choice but to show him a second yellow card, thus sending him off.
Here’s a look at the video for his first booking: