Colombian’s red card is World Cup’s 2nd-fastest

VOLGOGRAD, RUSSIA

Colombia midfielder — Carlos Sanchez will be relieved about one thing. His third-minute dismissal in the team’s opener with Japan on Tuesday at the World Cup isn’t the fastest in the tournament’s history.

That honor remains in the hands of Uruguay defender Jose Batista, who was shown a red card against Scotland at the 1986 World Cup inside the first minute. Still, Sanchez is second in the alltime list, and his dismissal means there are now three players in the history of the World Cup who have been sent off inside the first 10 minutes.

Batista, 1986: The defender was shown a red card in the 52nd second of a group match against a Scotland team coached by Alex Ferguson, after he brought down midfielder Gordon Strachan at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. It could have been even earlier; the foul was committed in the 39th second, but it took referee Joel Quiniou a full 13 seconds to brandish the card.

Despite having a oneman advantage for nearly the whole match, the game ended 0-0, and Scotland was eliminated.

Batista, who unlike some of the other players in that Uruguay side didn’t have much of a reputation as a bruiser, appears to have come to terms with his place in World Cup history. “I work at a football academy, and I coach an amateur team, and I always hear, ‘You know who this guy is? He’s the one that got sent off.’ So I get my phone out and show them the tackle,” Batista said in an interview posted on FIFA.com in 2016.

Sanchez: The Colombian holding midfielder’s offense wasn’t as blatant as Batista’s, but he was sent off by Slovenian referee Damir Skomina for handling the ball.

Sanchez had stuck out his arm to stop a shot that looked bound for the Colombian net at the Mordovia Arena in Saransk. It was costly. Shinji Kagawa converted the ensuing penalty to give Japan the lead. And though Colombia managed to get back on level terms in the 39th minute with a smart free-kick from Juan Quintero, Japan’s man-advantage was evident in the second half. Yuya Osako sealed the win with a powerful header in the 73rd minute.

Georgio Ferrini, 1962:

The Italian’s sending-off in the 1962 World Cup took place during what is arguably the dirtiest game in World Cup history. Italy vs. Chile will forever be known as the “Battle of Santiago.” The 66,000 fans at Chile’s national stadium witnessed spitting, two-footed challenges, punches, scuffles and even police intervention.

Referee Ken Aston, who later invented the yellow and red card system in place from the 1970 World Cup, took to the field fearful of what was to come. The backdrop to the game had already added an edge to the match, with Italian reporters maligning Chile as a country.

In the eighth minute, Aston sent off midfielder Ferrini for a violent foul on a Chile player. Ferrini refused to leave the field and was eventually escorted off by police.

Arguably, the violence only got worse. Italy defender Mario David was sent off after he high-kicked at Leonel Sanchez’s throat. Sanchez, the son of a professional boxer, should have been sent off himself after breaking Humberto Maschio’s nose with a punch.

Italy, down to nine men, held on until two late goals saw Chile win 2-0.