Ethan Ampadu fell victim to one of football’s worst ever red card decisions after being sent off while playing for Venezia despite pulling off a clean tackle.
Ampadu, 21, is spending the season on loan in Italy with the Serie A side, but will now be forced to watch on from the sidelines following the bizarre dismissal.
During the home defeat by fellow strugglers Salernitana this week, Ampadu stepped forward to rob the ball off Franck Ribery, only for the referee to blow for a foul.
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Chelsea loanee Ethan Ampadu was sent off for a seemingly perfect tackle while at Venezia
Ampadu (left) was left baffled after sliding in on Franck Ribery and being shown a red card
To make matters worse, the official, while wily forward Ribery was rolling around on the ground, went straight for his red card.
With the score level at 1-1, and just 25 minutes of the clash remaining, Ribery managed to latch on to a loose ball just outside the penalty area.
The versatile Ampadu read the situation perfectly, however, as he lunged forward to get a touch on the ball and bring an end to the danger.
But after Ribery’s comical display, play was immediately halted, and a clearly baffled Ampadu was then handed his marching orders.
After timing his tackle superbly, Ampadu looked to have ended the danger, but play was halted
Ribery, formerly of Bayern Munich, rolled around on the turf before Ampadu’s bizarre dismissal
Both the Wales international, who was making his fourth appearance in Italy’s top-flight, and his team-mates were left disgusted by the decision.
To add insult to apparent injury, the red card may have played a role in Salernitana’s last-gasp winner, which came in dramatic fashion in the 95th minute.
The result means that Venezia are now just one point above the basement club.
Unsurprisingly, the sending off was greeted with a wave of disapproval from supporters and viewers, some of whom aired their frustration on social media.
Ampadu (left) is spending the season in Serie A, in what is his third stint away from Chelsea
‘This isn’t even a foul,’ one Twitter user said, clearly in disbelief.
Another wrote: ‘I hate the cliche but this being a red card for Ampadu means the game really is gone.’
‘That was never a red in a million years,’ a third posted. ‘Ampadu clearly won the ball.
A fourth, meanwhile, said: ‘Ethan Ampadu has been given the most ridiculous red card I’ve ever seen in my entire life.’
‘Just might be one of the worst decisions that I have ever seen,’ another believes. ‘Never a red card.’
One user even took aim at Ribery’s theatrics, adding: ‘At first I thought the ref was showing red to the flopper…’
Reacting to the red card, Venezia coach Paolo Zanetti told DAZN: ‘We did well in the first half and Salernitana naturally came back at us, but then the referee was the worst man on the pitch and he ruined the game.
‘Look, we could’ve done better too, but the referee was even called over by VAR to see it again. His earlier yellow card on Ampadu was also absurd, as it wasn’t a foul.
‘This destroys and transforms important matches. We are in Serie A and do not expect this sort of thing. We’ll struggle to remain in Serie A, but we want to fight to earn our place on our own merits, not decisions like this.
‘I consider myself an honest person and I have no issue saying things to people’s faces. This is the reality of the situation.’
Ampadu’s loan at Venezia is his third temporary stint away from Chelsea, after he also turned out for RB Leipzig and Sheffield United.
Overall, he has played just 12 times for his parent side, and his last appearance for them came in the 2018/19 season.