THE Europa League is never short of entertainment and Thursday’s clash between Bayer Leverkusen and Qarabag was no different.
Qarabag defender Elvin Cafarquliyev hilariously tried to high-five the referee following a VAR decision thinking he had been spared a yellow card – only to be shown a red just seconds later.
Cafarquliyev was booked by referee Anthony Taylor in the 61st minute after he was judged to have grabbed the shirt of Leverkusen star Jeremie Frimpong who was through on goal.
Frimpong fell to the ground as a result and after a lengthy VAR check Taylor retrospectively decided that his Cafarquliyev’s yellow card should instead have been red.
After making the bold decision the official indicated that the yellow card would no longer stand with a hand gesture, leading Cafarquliyev to believe he had got off scot free.
The Azerbaijan international wanted to celebrate that by high-fiving Taylor and raised his hand to do so – only for the stern referee to reach into his pocket and brandish a red card instead.
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Cafarquliyev had jumped the gun in thinking he was getting away with the shirt tug, but instead was sent for an early shower.
Fans couldn’t believe what they were seeing and took to social media to share their reactions.
One wrote: “Right up towards the top of the list for funniest football moments ever. Outstanding.”
While another added: “Taylor left him hanging and said here you go, you’re off!”
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A third joked: “I’m on the actual floor.”
And a fourth wrote: “VAR can’t even downgrade yellows so not sure what he was hoping his best case scenario was there.”
The one man deficit didn’t seem to hamper Qarabag initially as they doubled their lead over Leverkusen to 2-0 just three minutes after the sending off.
But ultimately Xabi Alonso’s side made the most of their advantage by pulling a goal back in the 72nd minute and adding two more through Patrik Schick in injury time to win the game 3-2.
Leverkusen didn’t just book their place in the Europa League quarter-finals with their win, but also kept their 37 game unbeaten run alive.
The Germans sit top of the Bundesliga table after an exceptional campaign with Alonso at the helm.
And with 10 points separating them from second placed Bayern Munich it looks like they are on course for a first ever Bundelsiga title.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
