A PREMIER LEAGUE cult hero was sent off for a shocking elbow with only seconds left of a Europa League clash.
Fiorentina led Turkish club Sivasspor 1-0 in the first leg of their Europa Conference League clash last night.
The Italian club dominated and looked set to wrap up a routine win to take to the second leg.
But the match would end in surprise fashion after former Bournemouth and Leeds winger Max Gradel threw an elbow at Martinez Quarta in an off-the-ball incident.
The 35-year-old was attempting to chase down the ball as Fiorentina ran down the seconds.
But he then erratically slams his arm into defender Martinez Quarta.
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The centre-back collapsed to the ground holding his face and the game was quickly brought to a halt.
As Fiorentina players ran over to confront Gradel, the referee initially had a yellow card in his hand.
But he appears to change his mind as he tucked the yellow away and brandished the red.
It had been a frustrating evening for Sivasspor with Fiorentina controlling most of the game and spurning several opportunities.
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Viola even hit the cross bar twice before finally breaking through to get the winner.
Substitute Antonin Barak scored an acrobatic effort from close-range after Sivasspor failed to clear a corner.
Gradel will now miss the second-leg next week.
The Ivorian broke through at Championship Leicester between 2006 and 2010 before heading to Leeds.
He would finally make it in the Premier League when he moved to Bournemouth in 2015 but would tear his cruciate ligament only weeks after the transfer.
He scored his one Premier League goal in a 3-2 win over Swansea City in 2016.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
