“20 seconds of lunacy” sees Joao Felix red-carded against Athletic Bilbao

Talked himself into an early bath.

Back at Euro 2020, a couple of months ago, Roy Keane declared that Joao Felix and Bruno Fernandes had 'annoyed the hell' out of him. The Portugal pair both missed decent chances and flattered to deceive as they were eliminated by Belgium in the second round of the tournament. Back in the ITV studio, Keane declared:

"Felix, when he came on... That guy's an imposter. He's an imposter. He comes on like this, when your country needs you. Hit the target. "£100m? I think if I was Ronaldo, I'd certainly be going after him in the dressing room."

One wonders what Keane, and avid La Liga fan, would make of the 21-year-old receiving his first ever red card. Keane himself racked up 13 in his playing career, but never got his marching orders for what Felix did against Athletic Bilbao. With the scores level at 0-o with 14 minutes to go, the Atletico Madrid star was booked for flicking an arm back at Unai Vencedor. When the referee whistled him up and flashed the yellow, Felix gesticulated with a finger to his head and asked, 'Are you crazy?!' That was enough for the referee, who quickly brandished the yellow card again, followed by a red. Luis Suarez was on hand to try and talk the referee down, but he had no joy. https://twitter.com/FootballJOE/status/1439265280400707599 Felix was getting his jersey tugged at the time, and no card was show to Vencedor. It was only Felix that got the cautions. It would be worth following this one as the decision to send Felix off seemed quite rash.

"Joao was running and had no intention of hitting his opponent," Atletico defender Stefan Savic said, after the match. "I don't know what happened next but people say things in the heat of the moment but they [referees] have to understand that when your adrenaline is running high you sometimes say things you shouldn't."

The game ended 0-0 and it was enough for Atletico, last year's champions, to stay top of the table. Real Madrid and Valencia may yet overtake them, though, before the weekend is out.

---