The Rational Ref | Overreaction to time waste tantrum shows no common sense
La Liga grass-throwing dismissal shows it's not the farce, but the force that determines penalty
No matter how silly and infantile throwing tantrums and clumps of grass may be on the soccer pitch, they can still get you sent off.
The latest example comes from the Spanish top-flight league where Celta Vigo striker Fabian Orellana lost his rag at the time-wasting antics of Barcelona's Sergio Busquets.
An enraged Orellana, 29, remonstrated with the referee before ripping up a clump of grass and throwing it at the midfielder.
Throwing grass at someone is lightweight when we recall Eric Cantona's flying kick at a Crystal Palace fan
The turf made contact with the back of Busquets' neck and the 26-year-old Spain international with 74 caps went down like a tonne of bricks, while grabbing his face.
Referee Inaki Vicandi Garrido showed Orellana the red card for violent conduct.
"Grassing on someone" has taken on a whole new meaning. Here are three facts we can learn from this incident:
First, the positive is that Celta Vigo coach Eduardo Berizzo fully accepted the referee's decision and chose to focus on condemning his player. "It's completely irresponsible to leave your team with 10 men ... We will have to talk about this behaviour," said Berizzo. The best way to avoid controversy is to not do anything controversial in the first place.
