Intimate piercing leads to bizarre sending off! (football)
Andy
Posts: 8,207
A player in Melbourne who was left in agony after the ball struck his groin was sent off when the referee spotted he had an intimate piercing.
Aaron Eccleston, playing for Old Hill Wanderers against Swinburne University reserves, was shown a second yellow card for the offence in the first half of the match.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the incident happened while Eccleston was sprawling on the grass in pain. According to an opponent, when the player instinctively lowered his shorts to "check that it was still there", the referee spotted the piercing – and when Eccleston refused to remove it, he was dismissed.
The laws of the game forbid players from wearing items, including jewellery, that are "dangerous to himself or another player".
Eccleston, who describes himself on his Twitter page as a "disillusioned Mansfield Town fan, down under", was shocked at how quickly the story spread, tweeting: "I don't think my mum's going to be particularly happy!"
A statement on the club's website said: "During the first half, our player was struck in the groin by the ball, and left the field to receive attention. At this point the referee became aware that he had a body piercing.
"He subsequently received two yellow cards, firstly for re-entering the field of play without the referee's permission, and secondly for privacy reasons being unable to prove that he had removed the piercing."
The club accepted the yellow cards had been issued "in accordance with the laws of football" and apologised to the referee for the "negative attention that may have been generated by this unfortunate event".
Aaron Eccleston, playing for Old Hill Wanderers against Swinburne University reserves, was shown a second yellow card for the offence in the first half of the match.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the incident happened while Eccleston was sprawling on the grass in pain. According to an opponent, when the player instinctively lowered his shorts to "check that it was still there", the referee spotted the piercing – and when Eccleston refused to remove it, he was dismissed.
The laws of the game forbid players from wearing items, including jewellery, that are "dangerous to himself or another player".
Eccleston, who describes himself on his Twitter page as a "disillusioned Mansfield Town fan, down under", was shocked at how quickly the story spread, tweeting: "I don't think my mum's going to be particularly happy!"
A statement on the club's website said: "During the first half, our player was struck in the groin by the ball, and left the field to receive attention. At this point the referee became aware that he had a body piercing.
"He subsequently received two yellow cards, firstly for re-entering the field of play without the referee's permission, and secondly for privacy reasons being unable to prove that he had removed the piercing."
The club accepted the yellow cards had been issued "in accordance with the laws of football" and apologised to the referee for the "negative attention that may have been generated by this unfortunate event".
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