Antony dodged a second red card in less than a week despite the Real Betis star appearing to headbutt a rival player during the Europa League clash with Utrecht
Antony dodged a red card for what looked like a headbutt
Antony dodged a red card for what looked like a headbutt
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Former Manchester United flop Antony dodged being shown a red card despite the Real Betis star appearing to headbutt an opponent in the Europa League on Thursday night.
The La Liga side were taking on Dutch outfit Utrecht in Europe and Antony looked to have an unsavoury moment with their left-back Souffian El Karouani. The duo had several scuffles in the lead up to the incident, which occurred after 21 minutes.
On this occasion they were battling for possession and El Karouani looked to grab hold of the winger, who clearly took issue, with footage showing that Antony appeared to take a look at the defender before aiming a headbutt in his direction.
El Karouani immediately went down clutching his head, but Antony was not punished. The referee made no decision on the pitch and, even after VAR intervened to have a second look, his antics were cleared.
Antony already knows he's facing one suspension after being sent-off in the final minute of their 1-1 draw over Girona last week - which means he will now miss the Andalusian derby against Betis' fierce rivals Sevilla this weekend.
Utrecht will have been further angered by Antony's reprieve when he laid on Betis' opening goal of the night, scored by Cucho Hernandez. The Spanish side were without leading light Isco but still managed to maintain their unbeaten start in the Europa League as they sit in the qualification spots.
Betis doubled their lead through Abde Ezzalzouli in the 50th minute and even though Utrecht pulled a goal back with an stunning strike from the halfway line courtesy of Miguel Rodriguez, it was still the Spaniards who picked up the three points.
The Brazilian stayed on the pitch and helped Real Betis land all three points
The Brazilian stayed on the pitch and helped Real Betis land all three points
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Antony will be glad he dodged a second red card in five days having been given his marching orders after kicking a Girona player in the face as he attempted an overhead kick. The winger, who made his move to Betis a permanent one in the summer, was initially shown a yellow card by the referee which was then upgraded after VAR recommended an on pitch review.
Betis have attempted to appeal against Antony's three-match ban, but that was waved away and the club are now thought to be considering an appeal with to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
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