Bizarre incident as Brazilian goalkeeper receives red card even before Cup final starts

In a sight very rarely seen in football, a player was sent off before the match had begun. Brazillian goalkeeper Jean Fernandes was shown a red card and given his marching orders by the referee before the match itself had begun. According to the match logs, the player was shown the red card for allegedly 'trolling' the away supporters behind the goal as he raised and crossed his forearms in front of his throat.

It was in the Paraguay Super Cup final, where the first whistle was yet to be blown when the Cerro Porteno shot-stopper was given his marching orders. To make things worse for him, his side ended up losing to their arch-rivals Olimpia 3-1. The footage shows Cerro Porteno's Jean Fernandes making what were deemed to be provocative gestures by the match officials. He was told to stand near the half-line as VAR had a look at the incident and then informed referee Eber Aquino to send the keeper off.

Fernades protest's the decision on social media

Fernandes who is on loan from Sao Paulo FC protested the decision and claimed his innocence on social media saying that he was only doing a 'prematch ritual' that is apparently very common in Brazil. He said that the celebration is called 'vapo' and said that the referee ended up red carding him after misunderstanding the situation.

He said: "When I went to put my rosary by the side of the goalpost, something which I always do, the rival fans began to throw several things at me including firecrackers. I reacted by making a gesture which in Brazil is normal. A player called Gerson celebrates like that. It’s called the ‘vapo’ gesture. I don’t know what the ref thought but he ended up red-carding me. It was a misunderstanding."

Roque Santa Cruz to leave Olimpia

After the Paraguay Super Cup final match, 40-year-old Roque Santa Cruz announced that it was his last match for the club and will now move someone else. He said: “I said this was going to be my last dance, but at the club. I’m going to carry on playing but not now at Olimpia. I gave everything and I’m leaving content with what I’ve done," as quoted by The Sun.

Image: Twitter