FANS have hailed Dani Carvajal as a “genius” as he was sent off against Germany.
The Spanish booked their spot in the Euro 2024 semi-finals with a 2-1 win over the host nation.
Referee Anthony Taylor was in charge of the match and was trigger-happy with the cards.
The English official handed out 15 yellow cards during the clash, eight of which went to Germany and seven to Spain.
Nico Schlotterbeck and Deniz Undav were booked while on the bench and Dani Carvajal was given his marching orders for two bookable offences.
Fans have hailed the Real Madrid man as he took the card to stop a late German attack knowing a red card would not affect his chances of playing in a potential final.
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One hailed: “Dani Carvajal is a genius, he knew he was gonna miss the semis anyway so took one for the team. I am starting to like him.”
A second claimed: “Genius from Carvajal if nothing comes from it.”
Among the Spain, players that were booked, Carvajal and Robin Le Normand will now all miss the semi-final.
Alvaro Morata was thought to have been booked while he was off the pitch due to the TV coverage but Uefa have confirmed this is not the case and he will not be banned.
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Plenty of fans on social media took aim at Taylor for the amount of bookings in the match.
One posted: “Anthony Taylor having an absolute shocker here.”
A second commented: “Anthony Taylor should never referee another game of football again.”
A third wrote: “Anthony Taylor needs to retire.”
A fourth said: “Anthony Taylor made the entire game about himself.”
Another added: “Anthony Taylor is a joke.”
Spain looked set to win the match inside ninety minutes as Dani Olmo scored the go-ahead goal in the 51st minute.
Germany were able to keep themselves in the tournament as Florian Wirtz netted in the 89th minute to force extra time.
However, it just delayed the result as former Newcastle flop Mikel Merino headed the winner for Luis de la Fuente’s side in the 119th minute.
Spain will also be without Barcelona star Pedri for the remainder of the tournament.
The midfielder was forced off inside ten minutes after picking up an injury.
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Despite Taylor’s eagerness with the cards, it was not the most handed out in a single game at the tournament.
Turkey’s group stage win over the Czech Republic saw 20 bookings handed out to players by Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs.
Who is Euro 2024’s sexiest star?
EURO 2024 has something for everyone from stunning goals, thrilling matches… and the continent’s biggest hunks, writes Jack Figg.
Several stars have lit up the group stages with their skills on the pitch – but others are also catching the eye for their looks.
But who is the sexiest?
Thankfully AI boffins have carried out an analysis on the facial attractiveness of all players at the tournament.
And it’s bad news for Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions who are the fourth UGLIEST in the competition – one place below Scotland.
In fact it’s England’s group rivals Serbia who have fans swooning the most – boasting an average score of 77.90/100 with defender Strahinja Pavlovic deemed their most attractive.
While Turkey defender Mert Muldur has been ranked as the tournament’s BEST-LOOKING player.
But who is England’s sexiest star, and who makes the Euros’ hunkiest XI? Read our full story.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
