A FORMER Premier League star was incredibly sent off in a bizarre optical illusion. And it proved crucial as his side fell to a shock defeat in their Champions League opener. 5 Eric Garcia appeared to only be shown a yellow card despite his blatant foul Credit: X @TNTSports 5 The official Champions League graphic indicated he had received a straight red card Credit: X @TNTSports Eric Garcia started in midfield for Barcelona as they took on Monaco.
However, his game lasted just TEN minutes before he was given his marching orders...
or was he? Garcia was put under pressure by a sloppy pass from goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen. And that allowed Takumi Minamino to pick his pocket. READ MORE ON FOOTBALL RAY TO GO Watch Raya's crazy double save as gobsmacked Savage calls it 'one of best EVER' Ex-Manchester City man Garcia then brought down the former Liverpool forward in a cynical foul as Minamino closed in on goal.
It was a blatant goalscoring opportunity and with the incident taking place outside of the penalty area, the offence warranted a red card. But did the referee agree? Well, it was not immediately clear. Most read in Football JET OFF SPFL star SACKED by club after being accused in £600,000 drugs plot VLAD LANGUAGE Celtic hero calls Vladimir Weiss a 'f***** d***' and was BUZZING to hear boos JET BUST Footie star & Wag nicked over £600k weed haul seized from business class flight BRUTAL BUSINESS Manager of Celtic's Champions League rivals SACKED after Euro hammering FOOT.